CNN Anchor Slaps Nancy Mace With First Amendment Rebuke in Wild On-Air Clash Over Anti-Muslim Tweets

CNN anchor Omar Jimenez confronted Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) over the First Amendment during a tense live interview on Sunday after the congresswoman declared that Muslim public officials were a “trojan horse” and “threat” to the United States.

The tense exchange came after Mace took to X on Friday, days after Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim, won the Democratic senatorial primary in Michigan.

She followed with a further tweet on Sunday: “If not wanting to be blown up, stabbed, or rammed by a car by a radical Islamist in the United States of America makes us Islamophobes, then so be it.”

When Mace appeared on CNN Newsroom late Sunday, Jimenez pressed her on Iran before grilling the Republican on her rhetoric.

“Are you saying that anyone who is Muslim is a threat to this country?” he asked.

“Uhh, that’s not what I said, that’s not what I said,” Mace replied. “I do think we have a real issue with radical Islamic-”

“I mean, it sounds like that’s what you’re saying,” Jimenez cut in.

“No, I was talking about elected officials,” she countered.

“So any Muslim elected official? Sorry to cut you off,” the anchor followed.

Mace confirmed his clarification, rounding on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and El-Sayed while warning about “radical Islam ideology where women are covered head to toe.”

“It’s very oppressive. We’ve seen grooming gangs,” she continued, before Jimenez responded: “But Congresswoman, there’s no indication that Mayor Mamdani has brought any of those ideals to New York City governance or that just being Muslim brings those in.”

Mace then warned: “If you’re playing footsie with an imam here in America who’s an unindicted co-conspirator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings, yeah we have a real problem with that kind of ideology.”

“But congresswoman, when you make a blanket statement like that it implies that every Muslim member of Congress or leadership, folks who are elected by the way by American citizens,” Jimenez began.

“I am deeply concerned about Michigan Democrats nominating a guy hanging out with [Marxist influencer] Hasan Piker, who said America deserved 9/11, who has a framed photo of the Twin Towers being-” Mace returned.
Jimenez countered that El-Sayed has already apologized for that.

“Yeah, but this is who he’s hanging out with, this kind of person who is promoting communist ideology, America is not built on those values and in the future, when our granddaughters are wearing burkas to school, we’re going to look back and say, how did this happen?” Mace said.

“There’s no indication that that is happening on a wide basis,” the anchor argued. “An expression of culture, congresswoman, is different than a blanket city policy.”

The exchange grew more heated when Mace said: “I don’t want to hear the call to prayer five times a day in an American city.”

“Well, if you don’t want to hear it, that’s OK; The First Amendment protects [the] freedom of religion,” Jimenez said. “If you don’t want to hear it, fine. I grew up in a Christian household. I grew up in the South. Islam is not my religion, but I have Muslim friends who, if that is how they worship, even if I don’t want to hear it, that is their right to hear.”

“In the privacy of their own mosque or their own home, not on the streets of America. I think we’re speaking a very different vibe here,” Mace responded. “I look at the women who are covered head to toe with little slits for their eyes. As a woman, that’s scary to me –”

“That’s not being forced on you, congresswoman,” Jimenez said. “That’s not being forced on you to do, congresswoman. That’s not being forced at a congressional, legal level.”

“It’s being forced on women and girls. A 6-year-old girl doesn’t get a say if she should wear a hijab or not, I mean this is very, I think, dangerous ideology,” Mace said.

Jimenez replied: “That’s up to a family’s decision on how they govern their kids.”

As the interview wound down, Jimenez returned directly to the Constitution.

“I appreciate you taking your time and explaining your tweet as best you could there, but, you know, the First Amendment is pretty clear on freedom of religion,” he said, also pointing to Article 6, which prohibits religious tests for public office.

Mace responded: “I don’t want this seeping into American culture. We have Christian foundations as a nation.”

“That’s your opinion. The First Amendment disagrees that it needs to stay that,” Jimenez said. “If someone wants to express their religion, it’s right there; it’s number one in terms of the Constitution.”

Mace then declared: “Go back to that country is all I have to say. Go back to that country of origin. It doesn’t need to be here.”

“Congresswoman, America has a long history of expressing cultures from various countries,” Jimenez replied. “You know that, we have seen that play out in generations of immigration, but I have to leave the conversation there. Congresswoman, thank you for being here.”

“I think we should ban all immigrants from those countries, thank you,” Mace said.

“And that is your opinion, Congresswoman,” Jimenez concluded.

Watch above via CNN.

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