周五在南卡罗来纳州芒特普莱森特举行的新闻发布会上，梅斯诋毁了黑利在税收、外交政策和移民方面的记录，同时回应了其他共和党人将黑利与前国务卿希拉里·克林顿等民主党人相提并论的攻击。
梅斯说:“上一次穿着高跟鞋在南卡罗来纳州四处走动的增税总统是希拉里·克林顿。”
梅斯补充说，“唐纳德·特朗普是唯一能拯救美国的人。”
然而，随着时间的推移，自2021年进入国会的第一周以来，梅斯一直在特朗普和他的基础上走钢丝-从批评到全力支持。
就在1月6日美国国会大厦遇袭一天后，梅斯表示，特朗普的“全部遗产”都被围困“抹去了”。
在2022年竞选南卡罗来纳州第一国会选区连任期间，特朗普支持梅斯的挑战者凯蒂·阿灵顿。当时，特朗普称梅斯“可怕”和令人失望。
“坦率地说，她几乎被所有人鄙视，谁需要国会或共和党这样做?”特朗普在支持阿灵顿的同时在其社交媒体上发表声明说。
在南卡罗来纳州的一次集会上，特朗普接着打电话给梅斯“疯子”和“可怕的人”
尽管如此，在他支持她的挑战者并炮轰她后，梅斯在社交媒体上发布了支持特朗普的视频。梅斯站在曼哈顿的特朗普大厦前说，她是特朗普及其议程的“最早支持者”之一。
然而，梅斯在中期选举中从未赢回特朗普的支持，相反，她得到了住在梅斯选区的海莉的高调支持。海莉甚至出现在支持梅斯的电视广告中称她为“像钉子一样坚韧”的“斗士”
“我喜欢妮基·黑利在这里，”梅斯在当选前一天告诉美国广播公司新闻。
但当谈到她在白宫的首选居住者时，梅斯对海莉的爱似乎已经消散。一月下旬，梅斯支持特朗普而不是海莉，这位前南卡罗来纳州州长遭受了巨大的打击，因为她最明显的支持者之一转而反对她。南卡罗来纳州参议员蒂姆·斯科特也支持特朗普在中止了自己的竞选后。
“我与任何候选人的看法都不完全一致。直到现在我都置身事外。但现在是团结起来支持我们的提名人的时候了，”梅斯告诉美联社。
南卡罗来纳州保守派政治战略家戴夫·威尔逊告诉ABC新闻，海莉正在失去她的盟友，该州的政治正在经历一个不可预测的时期。
威尔逊说:“我们目前正处于南卡罗来纳州政治中最具政治精神分裂的季节之一。“随着竞选的深入，那些因为之前的关系而看起来像是天然盟友的人越来越倾向于民粹主义潮流。”
梅斯的政治未来可能岌岌可危——她支持驱逐前众议院议长·凯文·麦卡锡，这使她在一场混乱的初选中占据了中心位置，以保住自己的席位。就在离开国会之前，麦卡锡在接受美国有线电视新闻网采访时表示，梅斯不应该因为她而连任哲学与摇摆不定。"
南希·梅斯表示:如果在堕胎问题上找不到“中间立场”，共和党将“损失惨重”
威尔逊认为，梅斯突然转向特朗普可能是边境战略的一部分，以保护自己免受麦卡锡之后的任何脆弱性。
梅斯面临着她的前幕僚长丹尼尔·汉伦(Daniel Hanlon)和凯瑟琳·邓普顿(Catherine Templeton)的主要挑战。凯瑟琳·邓普顿在海利担任州长期间曾在南卡罗来纳州政府任职，据报道是特朗普白宫劳工部长的最佳人选之一。
威尔逊说:“南希·梅斯可能认识到这样一个事实，即她在这次共和党初选中面临至少两名初选挑战者的激烈反对。”“她可能知道，她必须得到特朗普的支持，才能获得在初选挑战中获胜所需的势头，尤其是在她投票反对特朗普继续担任众议院议长后新的凯文·麦卡锡政治行动委员会上台的情况下。”
How Nancy Mace's complicated history with Trump, Nikki Haley is playing out in South Carolina
Former President Donald Trumpcollected a key presidential primary endorsement that is likely stinging his Republican opponent,Nikki Haley: Rep. Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican and once-vocal ally of the former U.N. ambassador, who on Friday doubled down -- likening Haley to Democrats.
During a press conference in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on Friday, Mace discredited Haley's record on taxes, foreign policy and immigration while echoing attacks made by other Republicans that compared Haley to Democrats such as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"The last time a tax-hiking president walked around South Carolina in high heels was Hillary Clinton," Mace said.
Mace added that "Donald Trump is the only man who can save America."
Yet over time, Mace has walked a tightrope with Trump and his base -- ricocheting from criticism to full-throated support since her first week in Congress in 2021.
Just one day after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Mace said Trump's "entire legacy" was "wiped out" by the siege.
During her 2022 reelection bid for South Carolina's first congressional district, Trump backed Mace's challenger, Katie Arrington. At the time, Trump called Mace "terrible" and a letdown.
"Frankly, she is despised by almost everyone, and who needs that in Congress, or in the Republican Party?" Trump said in a statement on his social media while endorsing Arrington.
During a rally in South Carolina, Trumpwent on to call Mace"crazy" and a "terrible person."
Still, after he backed her challenger and blasted her, Maceposted a video on social media supporting Trump. Standing in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan, Mace said she was one "the earliest supporters" of Trump and his agenda.
However, Mace never won back Trump's support during her midterms race, and instead, boasted the high-profile support of Haley, who lives in Mace's district. Haley was evenfeatured in a television ad supporting Mace, calling her a "fighter" who is "tough as nails."
"I love having Nikki Haley here," Mace told ABC News the day before her election.
But when it comes to her preferred occupant in the White House, Mace's love for Haley seems to have dissipated. In late January,Mace endorsed Trump over Haley,a tremendous blow to the former South Carolina governor as one of her most visible supporters turned against her. South CarolinaSen. Tim Scott also endorsed Trumpafter suspending his own campaign.
"I don't see eye-to-eye perfectly with any candidate. And until now I've stayed out of it. But the time has come to unite behind our nominee," Mace told the Associated Press.
South Carolina conservative political strategist Dave Wilson told ABC News that Haley is losing her allies and that the state's politics are experiencing a time of unpredictability.
"We are currently in one of the most politically schizophrenic seasons in South Carolina politics," Wilson said. "As the race has honed itself down, those who would seem like natural allies because of previous relationships are going more with the populist tide."
Mace's political future is potentially on shaky ground -- her support of the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has centered her in a messy primary to keep her seat. Right before he left Congress, McCarthy said in an interview with CNN that Mace does not deserve to be reelected due to her "philosophy and the flip-flopping."
Wilson posited that Mace's lurch toward Trump may be part of a border strategy to protect herself from whatever vulnerabilities she now has after going after McCarthy.
Mace is facing primary challenges from her former chief of staff, Daniel Hanlon, and Catherine Templeton, who served in the South Carolina government during Haley's gubernatorial stint and was reportedly one of the top picks to serve as labor secretary in the Trump White House.
"Nancy Mace likely recognizes the fact that she faces stiff opposition with at least two primary challengers in this Republican primary," Wilson said. "She likely knows that she is going to have to have a Trump endorsement to give her momentum on the scale she'll need to survive a primary challenge, especially if the new Kevin McCarthy PAC comes after her following her 'no' vote for him remaining speaker of the House."
