Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is the latest elected official in Washington, D.C. to announce an endorsement for Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary. This one must sting.

Frankly, it is hard to keep up with Mace and her political opinions from day to day. She is becoming the Queen of the Flip-Flops. She was not a supporter of Trump, then she was a supporter of Trump, then January 6, 2021 happened and she railed against Trump. When Trump became a presidential candidate again, Mace said it was time for a change. She said that Trump wiped out his legacy by his actions on January 6.

Today she endorsed Trump on X (formerly Twitter.)

Today I’m endorsing Donald J. Trump for President.

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.

To be honest, it’s been a complete shit show since he left the White House.

Our… pic.twitter.com/qG6B3O8waN

— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) January 22, 2024

Nikki Haley lives in Mace’s district. Ouch. Mace joins the other South Carolina politicians who have come forward and endorsed Trump before that state’s primary. Governor Henry McMaster (who served as lt. governor during the Haley administration), Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, and numerous state legislators have all boarded the Trump train.

Mace is branding herself as an advocate for women in Congress. I find it odd that at a time she could speak up and support another woman from South Carolina, she chose to stick with a man for whom she has had nothing but criticism since 2021. Haley is an Establishment Republican. Mace fancies herself a maverick who takes shots at members of both parties. Mostly I think she aims for headlines to keep her name out there with an eye on re-election.

In 2022, Mace’s district was re-districted. Her history is as a moderate Republican. The problem for her is that her district has shifted farther right. She used to call GOP bomb-throwers in the House “bigoted clowns.” Then she joined with some of them to oust Speaker McCarthy. She endured a primary challenger in 2022 that was endorsed by Trump. Is seems she learned her lesson – do not go up against Trump.

Just two years ago, Mace and Haley were aligned in a congressional primary that tested Trump’s heft in South Carolina, where his own 2016 presidential primary win helped cement his nomination. After the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the U.S. Capitol, Mace, who had just been sworn in as a freshman lawmaker, went on TV to criticize Trump for his role in the day’s events, saying the president’s accomplishments in office “were wiped out in just a few short hours.”

Trump responded by calling Mace “an absolutely terrible candidate” and soliciting “any interest from good and SMART America First Republican Patriots” to run against a list of sitting House Republicans, including Mace, whom he endorsed for her first run in 2020 and who worked for his 2016 campaign.

When Katie Arrington, who unsuccessfully sought the seat in 2018, launched her 2022 bid against Mace, she had Trump’s “Complete and Total Endorsement.” During a pre-primary rally in South Carolina, Trump called Mace “crazy” and “a terrible person.”

Haley, meanwhile, stumped with Mace, as she had in 2020, helping raise money and appearing in a television ad on her behalf, calling her a “fighter.”

With both Nikki Haley and Senator Tim Scott in the Republican primary race, Mace remained quiet. It is reported that Mace and Haley have not spoken since last year.

It is what it is. Politicians are endorsing Trump, even those with dicey relationships with Trump, because they are currying favor. It’s why normal people hate politicians. The name-calling and accusations all fall away when it’s time to throw in with the guy that is out in front, especially with Trump so far out in front in the primary race. They all see the writing on the wall and don’t want to be left behind. None of them want to be on Trump’s list of disloyal Republicans.

It must sting all the more, though, for Haley as she faces another loss tomorrow. She came in third in Iowa, though she tried to convince voters that she made the race a two-person race. If that was the case, the race would have been between Trump and DeSantis coming out of Iowa. She pulled ahead of DeSantis in New Hampshire weeks ago so she’s feeling confident she will do well in New Hampshire. Maybe she will. Independents and those who usually vote Democrat have come to support her candidacy against Trump. However, in South Carolina, with those who know her well, she has failed to garner their endorsements. She is going to lose her own state’s primary. That’s some tough medicine for a politician.