Outgoing Republican Rep. Nancy Mace pushed back after a wave of media attention over newly shared bikini photos that appeared to show at least nine fresh tattoos.
The 48-year-old South Carolina Republican showed off tattooed arms in a swimsuit as part of a dramatic rollout for Get Maced, a promo that included footage of her surfing and firing an automatic weapon.
The images quickly lit up social media and cable-news chatter, with Fox News commentator Raymond Arroyo describing the display as “a cry for help.”
Mace, however, appeared more amused than rattled by the reaction, questioning why her appearance had become a subject of such intense public concern in a social media post of her own.
“Thoughts and prayers to all those affected by my sleeves. Made the mistake of opening my social media this afternoon. Some of y’all are OUT OF CONTROL,” Mace wrote.
“My biceps should NOT be a news story. We have more important things to worry about. Goodness. And God Bless America.”
Arroyo weighed in Monday on Laura Ingraham’s program, joining other commentators who argued that Mace’s public image could send the wrong signal to women.
“My heart goes out to her and it sounds like there was some traumatic things. But tats are not therapy. This is a cry for help. But this is a bad message to women,” he said.
Outgoing Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace hit back at the media firestorm caused by her newly posted bikini photos that revealed no fewer than nine new tattoos
Her posts caused a stir on the internet, with Fox News commentator Raymond Arroyo (pictured right) calling it ‘a cry for help’
Arroyo, who works for the Catholic-themed cable network EWTN, also slammed her for getting a tattoo of the Virgin Mary.
‘She does have the Virgin Mary on the arm there. I wish she would pray to the Virgin Mary rather than placing a tattoo of her on her bicep,’ he said.
Mace first revealed in a February Politico profile that she got nine tattoos in rapid succession during a tumultuous period marked by the end of her engagement and the departure of her entire congressional staff.
She says she got inked to experience ‘the pain that I need to feel.’
She described the tattoos as a way to ‘reclaim’ her body and identity after years of trauma she has publicly detailed, including being molested and raped as a teenager.
One is the opening line from Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs Dalloway: ‘Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.’
Other designs include the word ‘Justice,’ a saintly figure, a lion, a bird, a flower and a sun.
Donald Trump, whom Mace has described as a ‘father figure,’ has taken an interest in her ink, telling a group of South Carolina politicos last December that he had heard she had a number of ‘freaky tattoos,’ Fits News reported.
Mace revealed the new tattoos in promotional footage for her YouTube show Get Maced
Mace’s ink stunned the internet with many believing that the snaps were AI-generated
The 48-year-old South Carolinian bared her tattooed arms in a bikini during a high-octane introduction for Get Maced, featuring her surfing and firing an automatic weapon
Join the discussion
Are public figures judged too harshly for expressing themselves through body art?
Until last week, Mace had almost entirely concealed the work in public appearances, even as she campaigned for governor and continued serving in the House.
She finished a distant fifth in the June Republican primary for South Carolina governor after failing to win Trump’s endorsement and later passed on a potential Senate bid after the death of Lindsey Graham.
Her term ends in January 2027, leaving her without an elected office for the first time in almost a decade.
The YouTube channel, where she plans to comment on daily news, already features segments on topics ranging from the WNBA to ‘radical Islam.’
In the intro video, Mace appears in a black bikini and later sleeveless at a microphone, making the tattoos impossible to miss.
Social media users reacted with a mix of shock and mockery, with some refusing to believe the images were not AI-generated. ‘What the f***,’ one X user wrote. Another said: ‘We’re living in a simulation.’
Mace has long framed her personal struggles as central to her political identity.
‘My story is I am totally broken,’ she told Politico in February. ‘I have PTSD over what I’ve been through.’
Trump walks from Marine One to his limousine upon his arrival at the White House on Sunday
Mace’s term ends in January 2027, leaving her without elected office for the first time in almost a decade
She has spoken repeatedly about a difficult relationship with her father, a decorated Vietnam War hero, and about suffering sexual abuse as a teenager.
The tattoos arrived amid a period of intense therapy and legal battles stemming from her February 2025 House floor speech accusing her former fiancé and three associates of sex abuse.
All four men denied the claims. Litigation continues, with Mace at times representing herself.
‘It’s just my reaction and my response,’ she said of the ink. ‘And it keeps me alive.’
Mace worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign and remained a visible ally until her support for releasing the Epstein files created distance between them.
She told NewsNation last month that the split ‘may have ended’ her future political aspirations.
With her House career winding down, the YouTube venture marks her clearest attempt to stay in the public eye on her own terms.
The promo ends with the simple declaration: ‘What happens when a Bulldog leaves Washington? She takes the fight to the people.’
