The death of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has added heat to the already broiling debate among U.S. lawmakers over American financial support for Ukraine’s defense — and whether America can remain a steadfast Russian foe in the face of homegrown MAGA reluctance.
As news of Navalny’s predictable death hit, U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) issued a “warning” that a Putin-like authoritarianism by the name of Donald Trump is also on the menu in the U.S. — the Congressman urged Americans to reject it while they still could.
After President Joe Biden said, “Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” Swalwell wrote: “Let Navalny’s death be a warning to America. If returned to power, Donald Trump will jail his opponents. This isn’t a forecast, he has already told us this. There will be no evidence or due process. And certainly no opposition from Republicans in Congress.”
[Note: While campaigning, the GOP frontrunner Trump said he would be a dictator on “day one” if re-elected, with some taking him more literally than others.]
🤦🏻♀️ Your party is the one trying to jail political opponents… https://t.co/dLZsIbOkkD
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) February 16, 2024
MAGA congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC) defended Trump, replying to Swalwell: “Your party is the one trying to jail political opponents…”
Mace is referring to Trump’s four indictments which MAGA Republicans claim were advanced by a Department of Justice “weaponized” by Biden — even though Trump has been indicted by grand juries comprising American citizens who do not work for the federal government.
Mace, who has been a critic of Trump in the past, recently endorsed him for the GOP 2024 presidential ticket. She is running for re-election, too, but this time against her former chief of staff, Daniel Hanlon, who was reportedly encouraged to run by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. (Mace was one of the eight GOP members who voted to oust McCarthy as Speaker last year.)
Mace continues to position herself as a maverick within her party. Last year, after criticizing her party’s stance on core issues including abortion and guns, she said, “I feel like I’m on an island.”
In a recent political ad (see below), Mace states: “I am a caucus of one, and work hard to always put the Lowcountry first.”
I am a caucus of one, and work hard to always put the Lowcountry first. pic.twitter.com/PcKM0RmgjT
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) February 17, 2024
Mace’s statement has received backlash from some residents of the Lowcountry including Alex Stroman, former executive director of the South Carolina GOP, who said of Mace: “I don’t know if South Carolinians, those of us who reside in the Lowcountry, know what she’s for, who she’s for, or who she’s against, depending on the day, and then I really don’t think that she does.”