U.S. Politics · Elections · 11 outlets (L 4 · C 4 · R 3)
Ramaswamy defends ad featuring rival's mother as venues cancel events
Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Monday defended his campaign ad featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Amy Acton, telling "Fox & Friends" the mother made the first move.[11] The 30-second ad, released last week, shows Acton's mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a liar and disputing her account of a difficult childhood.[8, 11] On the same appearance, Ramaswamy called Acton "crazy, unstable, and dishonest" as backlash over the ad entered a second week, according to The Daily Beast.[3]
Ohio venues have canceled Ramaswamy campaign events over the ad, Newsweek reported.[6] A major Ohio newspaper reversed its policy of withholding political endorsements to back Acton, saying the ad was disqualifying, Mediaite and Raw Story reported.[2, 5]
Acton told MS NOW that "decency is on the ballot" and that Ohioans are "exhausted" by the "hate and the chaos" in politics.[1] The Hill argued the ad backfired by highlighting Acton's resilience in overcoming childhood trauma.[7]
Covered by MS NOW, The Hill, The Daily Wire and 8 more
Read first Ramaswamy humanized his opponent and dehumanized himself
Where accounts differ (1)
- FramingThe Daily Wire framed Ramaswamy as defending himself, saying the mother "made the first move," while The Daily Beast described the ad and his follow-up comments as a "vile" attack.[3, 11]
- The Daily Wire · Right · Oct 26, 7:15 a.m. ET Vivek Defends Ad Featuring Rival’s Mother, Says She Made The First Move
Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is defending his campaign’s controversial advertisement featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Amy Acton. Appearing Monday on “Fox & Friends,”…
- The Daily Beast · Leans left · Oct 26, 1:36 p.m. ET Desperate Ramaswamy Launches New Vile Attack at Opponent
The Daily Beast/Reuters/Getty MAGA candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has unleashed a vile new attack on his Democratic opponent, declaring her “crazy, unstable, and dishonest” as the backlash over his controversial ad with her…
- The Daily Wire · Right · Oct 26, 7:15 a.m. ET Vivek Defends Ad Featuring Rival’s Mother, Says She Made The First Move
How balanced is this coverage?
Of the 11 rated outlets that covered it, 4 are left of center, 4 are center and 3 are right of center (2 of them in the Right group).
- Left: none.
- Leans left: The New Republic (−1.09), Raw Story (−0.94), MS NOW (−0.76), The Daily Beast (−0.64).
- Center: Newsweek (−0.30), Mediaite (+0.04), Yahoo News (+0.07), The Hill (+0.10).
- Leans right: RealClearPolitics (+0.87).
- Right: The Daily Wire (+2.07), The Daily Signal (+2.20).
Each dot is an outlet that covered it, placed by its audience-lean score (Eady et al. 2025), which measures who shares its links, not how accurate it is. The ticks under the line are all 113 rated outlets Tare reads.