Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., blasted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., over her recent account of the January 6 riot at the Capitol Building, accusing the Democratic congresswoman of not being honest about her experience that day.
After Ocasio-Cortez said in a video last month that she “had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die,” Mace and others called her out by noting that rioters never entered her office building. In an interview with Fox News Radio’s “Fox Across America with Jimmy Failla,” Mace accused her of exaggerating what happened for political gain.
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“I deal in facts and reality. And the fact is there were no insurrectionist, no violent rioters that were in the halls of the Cannon Office Building that day,” said Mace, whose office is down the hall from Ocasio-Cortez. “Everyone was terrified. We were worried. It was a harrowing, life-threatening experience. No one questions that. But when we get into the details and the facts and let that slide, that that did not happen, that’s where I take issue. We need to be honest or people tell the truth and deal in reality and facts.”
According to Mace, this is far from the first time that Ocasio-Cortez has tried to use a situation for political purposes.
“[S]he has a tendency to politicize literally everything. And I’m sick and tired. I’m sick and tired of that,” Mace said.
Ocasio-Cortez recently released a video in which she acknowledged that the man who showed up at her office that day – causing her to fear an attacker was on the way – was in fact a Capitol Police officer.
She stated that the officer looked at her “with a tremendous amount of anger and hostility,” and that she did not know whether she could trust him. She likened the situation to communities where people are unsure whether they can trust police.
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She said the officer ended up shouting instructions for where she needed to go upon evacuating the building and then left.
Ocasio-Cortez has since accused Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, of almost having her “murdered,” touching on accusations that Cruz and others incited the attack through their rhetoric about the election.
Ultimately, Mace said, the country has too much to worry about to deal with political stunts.
“We’ve got Americans who are working hard trying to put food on the table, gas in their tanks, in their cars, and we’re struggling to make it. And we have so much more to do for the American people. Yet we’re sidetracked by this Jerry Springer Show sideshow that we see,” she said, acknowledging that this problem is not exclusive to Democrats.
“But this has got to stop and we’ve got to deal with reality and deal in fact.”
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When her accounts of the day met derision, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that people were “manipulating the fact that most people don’t know the layout of the Capitol complex.” She noted that while she was not in the Capitol building itself, her office is connected to it through an underground tunnel.
Fox News’ Sam Dorman contributed to this report.