Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.) roasted prominent members of her own party Wednesday at the annual Washington Press Club Foundation Congressional Dinner.
The fundraising dinner was billed as an evening of “lighthearted quips,” but Mace’s digs were anything but. And she managed to bash House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and ex-President Donald Trump in the same one-liner about McCarthy’s contortions to win the speakership last month.
“I haven’t seen someone assume that many positions to appease the crazy Republicans since Stormy Daniels,” said Mace, referring to the adult film actor who accused Trump of having an affair with her in 2006.
Mace later made a jab at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who she recently branded a “fraud.” Gaetz helped lead Freedom Caucus radicals who opposed McCarthy’s speakership until he promised concessions.
“Well, let’s be honest. We all knew that Matt Gaetz would never let the vote get to 18,” said Mace. The joke about Gaetz’s alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old drew shocked reactions from the crowd.
“I do have a message for Matt this evening. He really, really wanted to be here tonight, but he couldn’t find a babysitter — to be his date, I mean. Come on.”
Mace wasn’t the only politician firing off jokes at members of their own party.
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) took aim at President Joe Biden over a clip that shows him clapping out of sync with Black churchgoers at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church last month.