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Whatever happened last week at the Charleston International Airport (CHS) involving South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace and members of the airport authority’s police department remains up for discussion.
Considerable discussion, it would appear… judging by the response of Mace’s rival candidates for governor of the Palmetto State in 2026. And judging by the response of the congresswoman herself…
To hear officers tell it, the third-term congresswoman – one of South Carolina’s gubernatorial frontrunners – was profanely belligerent and demeaning in her interactions with officers of the Charleston Regional Aviation Authority (CRAA) during a scheduled departure from their airport last Thursday morning (October 30, 2025).
To hear the congresswoman’s narrative, the officers tasked with escorting her through the facility were incompetent – failing to show up at the proper time (and at the correct location) despite receiving specific information about when she was arriving and the vehicle in which she was traveling. Mace is not about to apologize for what she insists was a significant security lapse in the post-Charlie Kirk landscape. In fact, she implied if elected governor she would have fired the officers.
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“If ‘incompetence’ is your high bar – we’re never going to get along – and in a Mace Administration you will quickly find yourself OUT OF A JOB,” Mace wrote on X late Sunday evening (November 2, 2025).
The airport incident – first reported by FITSNews – has sparked national and statewide headlines. It has also prompted a flood of recrimination from Mace’s rivals in the governor’s race.
On Monday morning (November 3, 2025), four-term attorney general Alan Wilson – arguably Mace’s top rival for the 2026 GOP gubernatorial nomination – issued a statement demanding Mace apologize to airport police, calling her actions “dangerous, entitled, and beneath the dignity of public office.”
“At best she had an entitled temper tantrum, and at worst she showed a disturbing willingness to weaponize power against law enforcement when she does not get her way,” Wilson said. “She must apologize immediately to the men and women who protect the public every day, stop attacking those who refuse to bow to her demands with profanity-laced tirades.”
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RELATED | MACE AIRPORT INCIDENT
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Wilson went on to say “police were exactly where they were scheduled to be, doing their jobs, while Nancy Mace showed up twenty minutes late, in the wrong car, at the wrong location, and then tried to blame law enforcement for her own failure.”
Meanwhile, lieutenant governor Pamela Evette – another top contender in the race – slammed Mace as “a career politician who has never accomplished anything, never created a job, and can’t take responsibility for her own abhorrent behavior.”
According to Evette, “attacking and shaming law enforcement because you can’t manage your time properly or provide accurate information so people can keep you safe is why people are tired of what you’re selling.”
Mace, in keeping with her Donald Trump-style approach to controversy, is leaning into the drama…
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Getting ready to hold a press conference regarding the airport incident and security breach on Thursday.
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) November 3, 2025
You’re not going to want to miss this. It’s on.
HOLD THE LINE pic.twitter.com/Rnnkg2uQ9S
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How will this drama ultimately play out with voters? That remains to be seen… but it’s clear each of the top tier campaigns is working overtime to try and influence perceptions of the incident.
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we track the fallout from… “gate-gate?”
BANNER VIA: GETTY IMAGES
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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21 comments
Operation Collateral Damage
Can someone please tell her the “hold the line” thing sounds as stupid as the “thank you for your attention to this matter” tagline?
Thank you!
Telling for me is that neither Mace nor her team has disputed any of the details in the report regarding her behavior. If this is how she treats people in public, how does she treat people in private?
The receipts are coming. She just released text messages showing her staff texted she will be in a *silver* BMW. I would wait this one out because she always has the receipts.
I haven’t had a chance to read the rest of them yet but they’re coming out….
My guess is she really didn’t want to shame law enforcement.
This lady absolutely scares me… what a loose cannon! Is this what we want running our state?
You guys all want to drag her way too early.
Yes she’s a combative figure. I’m tired of mealy mouthed politicians who never get anything done, aren’t you?
You wanted to drag her on the Wesley Donahue “deposition”. It turned out to be a manufactured lie.
Let’s wait to see what the rest of the story is on this.
It was 630am at an airport, we get Nancy Mace, she’s a fireball when she has to be. That wasn’t the place.
This is a political arena, there is going to be push back on behavior unbecoming, it’s just a wake up call.
Besides, Pam responded, I’m sure she listened to the words of South Carolina’s matriarch.
I do agree – I wish it wouldn’t have gone down the way it did. That wasn’t the place. I can’t defend that and point well made and taken accordingly.
Well, I guess there is a call for apology from everyone. The initial report was at 620am When I watched that boring video it does appear her arrival was at 650am. The incident appears to have started at 653am.
I apologize for my time being incorrectly stated.
“Much Ado, about Nothing.”
“Gate-gate” – I love it!! ONLY you, Will …..
What has Nancy Mace ever “got done”?
The ‘report’ the airport police released about the incident looked like something a petty 13 year old wrote.
Go Pam!
Who?
Ha, thats my new handle. Its my time to disappear into the sea of invisible political fans. LaketahoeZ did what they wanted to do.
And
Pam is Pam, if you get a chance you should look her up sometime.
Ive done as much digging as im going to do with this:
Law Enforcement Standard-
Emotion doesn’t override protocol.
Even when a protectee is angry, scared, or right, officers maintain composure and so should leaders. If a civilian acted this way, they’d be flagged. Her status doesn’t lower the bar, it raises it.
Bottom Line
The airport screwed up. Full stop.
Mace’s reaction was disproportionate and unbecoming. Also full stop.
Both can be true.
You can hold the system accountable and expect better from elected officials. That’s not anti-Mace, that’s pro-standards.
That being said, this occured alongside the same time frame as her court victory against her ex in which she is a victim. Dealing with that can absolutely raise emotion explaining impulsive behavior.
It balances out in the end. This isnt a conspiracy, its a lapse of judgement which shouldn’t be weighed against her campaign. Like I said its a wake up call, move on and laugh it off. It was good to bring this into the spotlight to correct the narrative.
Can we get a Pam story so I can really work my mumbo jumbo in a positive way.
TSA sucks, this is a 3 point bump for mace. Only Lindsey Graham and Elliott Summey could see this issue as a winner: explaining that everything at the airport is fine amidst a national staffing tsa crisis.
Let them eat cake in the pre check line, Lindsay says.
If you have ever met the giant man child that is elliott summey you KNOW this was an intentional fuck you. Just a little discovery could turn up some great stuff.
This is a seriously disturbed woman. Doesn’t she have a family who can get her the help she so obviously and desperately needs? Or at least makes sure she takes her meds?