Ramaswamy Pulls Ad Featuring Acton's Estranged Mother
Was the ad indefensible exploitation or fair scrutiny of a campaign-defining biography?
Story
Above: Vivek Ramaswamy at the annual Circleville Pumpkin Show in Ohio, on Oct. 23. Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The Facts
- Republican Vivek Ramaswamy said Thursday at a campaign stop in Ohio, that his attack ad featuring Democrat Amy Acton's estranged mother had been removed from the air, telling reporters it "ran to completion" and that four other ads had replaced it.
- Ramaswamy's campaign had originally announced a $4 million buy for the spot, but ad-tracking firm AdImpact showed about $1 million was spent on two versions. A campaign official said the ad had "rotated off like any ad would."
- A spokesperson for Acton, Addie Bullock, said in a statement that the ad should never have run and that Ramaswamy removed it "in the most cowardly way possible," without an apology to Acton, her family or the people of Ohio.
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The Spin
Democratic narrative
Dragging a survivor's childhood rape into a campaign ad is about as low as politics gets. Yanking the spot once the backlash landed proves the calculation was always about poll numbers, not conscience. Anyone willing to monetize abuse for votes has already exposed a toxic form of leadership.
Republican narrative
Accountability over a biography anchoring an entire campaign is fair game, and voters deserve to know whether the story matches the court records. Ramaswamy simply allowed a witness to speak on camera, offering a different account of events. The outrage machine stayed quiet when attacks ran the other direction.
