Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is in hot water after an ad was released on his behalf using the estranged mother of his opponent, Amy Acton — who has been accused of covering up for her daughter's sexual abuser — and using her to call Acton a liar.
Faced with criticism and even fact-checking from conservative outlets, the Ramaswamy campaign has only doubled down, with spokeswoman Connie Luck saying Acton is a “serial fabulist” and Ohioans “deserve to know” the thoughts of those close to her.
This latest statement drew a fresh wave of fury from commenters on social media.
"The court records speak for themselves," wrote Democratic strategist Justin Barasky, attaching an image of the sexual abuse indictment against Acton's mother's husband, Cledith Arthur. "Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad is disgusting — there is no lie, no scam, and no shameful act too low for him."
"It’s astonishing that Ramaswamy thinks trotting out Amy Acton’s mother — who hasn’t spoken to her daughter in 48 YEARS — as a character witness is a good idea," wrote former Marine pilot and one-time Kentucky Senate candidate Amy McGrath. "This is the woman who stayed married to the man charged with raping her 12-year-old daughter. Even after her children were removed from her custody."
"Vivek Ramaswamy is now accusing Acton of lying about childhood trauma, including sexual abuse she experienced as a 12-year-old," wrote Democratic House staffer Aaron Fritschner. "This will backfire, but it speaks to what a truly loathsome and repugnant person he is"
"Lemme clear this up for y’all: @VivekGRamaswamy’s team produced this video in-house with his blessing and slid it to external validators to get it into the ether," wrote Rodericka Applewhaite of Majority Democrats. "That’s why despite its high production value, there is no 'paid for' legalese text anywhere in the video."
"There are newspaper clippings from 1978 about the husband of Amy Acton's mother being charged with 'the rape of a 12-year-old girl,'" wrote columnist Pedro Gonzalez. "National Review, a conservative outlet, just confirmed details of Amy Acton's story against court documents. Vivek is a scumbag, and so is everyone involved in creating and promoting this ad. One of the reasons it is so hard for children to come forward and talk about being abused is that they are afraid that no one, even their own family members, will believe them. Team Vivek shows why that fear is unfortunately valid and goes further by weaponizing it."