Republican Rep. Nancy Mace has used a softball interview over on Fox News to justify her screaming at unpaid airport staff last week.
“In the political environment we have today, there is no room for error when it comes to security,” the South Carolina gubernatorial candidate told the network Monday. “Yes, I did confront those who did not show up to do the job. My safety was put at risk.”
“Mediocrity when it comes to airport security and security breaches will not be tolerated,” she added.
Mace further claimed she’d seen “more than two dozen” security incidents at that particular airport in Charleston, South Carolina, but did not elaborate on what those had been, or go into details of what had precipitated her meltdown there this past Thursday.
The Daily Beast previously reported that things kicked off after officials failed to meet her at her car upon arriving at the airport. By the time they found her, she was “very irate” and waiting at the TSA Known Crewmember entrance, which she uses when taking flights.
Reporting officers said she “immediately began loudly cursing and making derogatory comments to us and about the department.” They added that “she repeatedly stated we were ‘f–king incompetent’, and ‘This is no way to treat a f–king U.S. Representative.”
Security footage from the airport shows Mace arriving in a dark gray BMW, rather than the white BMW officers had been expecting her to arrive in.
A TSA supervisor also indicated that Mace had spoken to a number of agency officials in much the same way, describing himself as “very upset with how she acted at the checkpoint.”
TSA agents are working without pay as the country endures what will very likely soon prove the longest shutdown in history after Congressional representatives, like Mace, failed to reach a funding deal to keep the government open.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who has announced he will be running against Mace in next year’s gubernatorial race, blasted her behavior on X.
“Disrespecting the men and women who keep our airports safe is unacceptable. Law enforcement and TSA agents show up every day to protect the public, and right now they’re not even getting paid,” he wrote. “They deserve respect and appreciation.”
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