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PoliticsQuiet 10d · day 17

Zeteo: Republicans warned Ramaswamy his Acton-mother ad would backfire

Ohio GOP nominee Vivek Ramaswamy keeps defending an ad in which Amy Acton's estranged mother calls her a liar about childhood rape, as Trump and Vance back him and new reporting says allies warned against it.

newest coverage 10d agosummary written 11d ago83 pieces3.5k likes & upvotes138 comments NewswiresBlueskyMastodonGoogle NewsRedditYouTubeX

Part of a larger narrative

Ramaswamy's Acton attack ad triggers venue boycotts, paper's endorsement reversal

6 stories · since Oct 14 · newest 8d ago

  1. Ramaswamy pulls Ohio ad featuring Acton's estranged mother after backlash
  2. Zeteo: Republicans warned Ramaswamy his Acton-mother ad would backfireyou are here
  3. Ramaswamy's Acton attack ad triggers venue boycotts, paper's endorsement reversal
  4. Ramaswamy campaign admits creating ad featuring Acton's estranged mother
  5. Trump Defends Ramaswamy's Attack Ad on Acton's Estranged Mother as GOP Splits
All 6 stories in this narrative →

What to know

  • Ramaswamy's ad features Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a liar about childhood abuse that led a court to strip Arthur's custody in 1978 after her husband was indicted for raping then-12-year-old Acton.
  • The ad drew bipartisan condemnation, including from GOP Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, but Trump and Vance publicly defended it and encouraged Ramaswamy to continue.
  • Nonpartisan polling shows Acton leading Ramaswamy by 4 to 9 points in a race that would make her Ohio's first elected woman governor.
  • New Zeteo reporting says Republicans privately warned Ramaswamy's campaign the ad would backfire before it ran.

The dispute Official Republican leadership (Trump, Vance) publicly defends the ad as a legitimate closing argument, a position essentially absent from the social commentary in the evidence, which is uniformly critical. · positions read across 21 posts and comments

most voices

The ad exploits Acton's childhood trauma and shows the GOP is willing to defend an accused child rapist for political gain.

  • “Vivek Ramaswamy is using the rape and abuse of Amy Acton as a child by her indicted stepfather, which caused her mother to lose permanent custody of her, as his closing argument... It's an indictment of the Republican Party.”

    @michelesgreenbook.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
some voices

There is a worse, hidden story behind how the ad was made, and Ramaswamy's campaign ignored warnings about it.

  • “The story of how it came together is even worse than you think.”

    zeteo.com · Bluesky ↗

“keep it up”

Donald Trump, President · The 19th ↗ · Oct 21

Vivek RamaswamyVivek Ramaswamy Ohio GOP gubernatorial nomineeAmy ActonAmy Acton Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidateDonna Arthur Acton's estranged motherDonald TrumpDonald Trump PresidentJD VanceJD Vance Vice PresidentMike DeWineMike DeWine Ohio Republican Governor

Zeteo: Republicans warned Ramaswamy his Acton-mother ad would backfire
newrepublic.com

How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesvideospostscomments

Peak 17 pieces in 4h at Oct 28, 10 AM; 83 pieces over 17 days (42 articles · 1 video · 37 posts · 3 comments) Oct 22, 10 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 post — Newswires 2, Bluesky 1Oct 22, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Oct 22, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 22, 10 PM — quietOct 23, 2 AM — quietOct 23, 6 AM — quietOct 23, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 23, 2 PM — quietOct 23, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 23, 10 PM — quietOct 24, 2 AM — quietOct 24, 6 AM — quietOct 24, 10 AM — quietOct 24, 2 PM — quietOct 24, 6 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 2Oct 24, 10 PM — quietOct 25, 2 AM — quietOct 25, 6 AM — quietOct 25, 10 AM — quietOct 25, 2 PM — quietOct 25, 6 PM — quietOct 25, 10 PM — quietOct 26, 2 AM — quietOct 26, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 26, 10 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Oct 26, 2 PM — 7 pieces · 4 articles · 3 posts — Mastodon 4, Google News 2, Newswires 1Oct 26, 6 PM — quietOct 26, 10 PM — quietOct 27, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Oct 27, 6 AM — quietOct 27, 10 AM — 7 pieces · 6 articles · 1 post — Newswires 6, Mastodon 1Oct 27, 2 PM — 8 pieces · 8 articles — Google News 7, Newswires 1Oct 27, 6 PM — 7 pieces · 2 articles · 5 posts — Mastodon 4, Newswires 1, Bluesky 1, +1 moreOct 27, 10 PM — 3 pieces · 3 posts — Mastodon 2, Bluesky 1Oct 28, 2 AM — quietOct 28, 6 AM — 6 pieces · 3 articles · 3 posts — Newswires 3, Mastodon 2, Reddit 1Oct 28, 10 AM — 17 pieces · 6 articles · 10 posts · 1 comment — Mastodon 6, Newswires 5, Bluesky 3, +1 moreOct 28, 2 PM — 9 pieces · 2 articles · 1 video · 6 posts — Mastodon 3, Reddit 2, Newswires 2, +2 moreOct 28, 6 PM — 3 pieces · 1 post · 2 comments — Reddit 2, X 1Oct 28, 10 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 29, 2 AM — quietOct 29, 6 AM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Oct 29, 10 AM — quietOct 29, 2 PM — quietOct 29, 6 PM — quietOct 29, 10 PM — quietOct 30, 2 AM — quietOct 30, 6 AM — quietOct 30, 10 AM — quietOct 30, 2 PM — quietOct 30, 6 PM — quietOct 30, 10 PM — quietOct 31, 2 AM — quietOct 31, 6 AM — quietOct 31, 10 AM — quietOct 31, 2 PM — quietOct 31, 6 PM — quietOct 31, 10 PM — quietNov 1, 1 AM — quietNov 1, 5 AM — quietNov 1, 9 AM — quietNov 1, 1 PM — quietNov 1, 5 PM — quietNov 1, 9 PM — quietNov 2, 1 AM — quietNov 2, 5 AM — quietNov 2, 9 AM — quietNov 2, 1 PM — quietNov 2, 5 PM — quietNov 2, 9 PM — quietNov 3, 1 AM — quietNov 3, 5 AM — quietNov 3, 9 AM — quietNov 3, 1 PM — quietNov 3, 5 PM — quietNov 3, 9 PM — quietNov 4, 1 AM — quietNov 4, 5 AM — quietNov 4, 9 AM — quietNov 4, 1 PM — quietNov 4, 5 PM — quietNov 4, 9 PM — quietNov 5, 1 AM — quietNov 5, 5 AM — quietNov 5, 9 AM — quietNov 5, 1 PM — quietNov 5, 5 PM — quietNov 5, 9 PM — quietNov 6, 1 AM — quietNov 6, 5 AM — quietNov 6, 9 AM — quietNov 6, 1 PM — quietNov 6, 5 PM — quietNov 6, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quiet 1234
Oct 23Oct 25Oct 27Oct 29Oct 31Nov 2Nov 4Nov 6now · 10:09 AM ET
  1. 4

    Zeteo reports Republicans warned Ramaswamy ad would backfire

    Zeteo reported that Republicans had privately warned Ramaswamy's campaign against using Acton's estranged mother in an ad, and that the behind-the-scenes story of how the ad came together is worse than previously known.

    “The story of how it came together is even worse than you think.”
    — Zeteo
    1. 4 outlets Republicans Warned Vivek Ramaswamy His ‘Rapist Protector’ Ad Was a Terrible Idea

      first by Zeteo, 11d ago · also Yahoo, Mediaite, Zeteo | Substack

      1 more headline
    • anamariecox.com

      This is all stupidly tragic. Acton’s mom is mentally unstable, living in her car with unspayed cats, refusing assistance. It must have taken an amount of energy to find her; this ad was the produce of *concerted,* long-term effort. A lot of thought went into it.

      anamariecox.comBluesky10d ago1.8k▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 16 posts in this stretch

    • President Trump on Ohio Gov. Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R) campaign ad with opponent Amy Acton's (D) mother: "Vivek was treated very unfairly. He had the mother of his opponent say that her daughter was a liar. I said, 'Why can’t I have an opponent like that?'”

      @cspanX10d ago31▲view on X ↗

    • "Axios reports on a new private GOP poll conducted in the aftermath of Vivek Ramaswamy’s decision to run his ad questioning his opponent’s having been raped by her stepfather when she was 12. It shows Ramaswamy falling to 8 points behind Amy Acton compared to 2 points a month before. The poll found that 86% of respondents had heard of the ad and…

      jalefkowit@hachyderm.ioMastodon10d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. 3

    Slate op-ed ties ad to pattern of disbelieving abuse victims

    A Slate column argued the ad reflects broader societal tendencies to disbelieve and blame child sexual abuse victims, citing statistics on abuse disclosure and victim-blaming.

    “There's a decency that we should expect out of our public officials. And I don't know what's happened where the standards of behavior have gotten so low that somebody can run an ad like that.”
    — Barack Obama, Former President · source
    • SpiritualAnnie@chattrbx.com

      Why Republicans find it so easy to defend pedophiles like Amy Acton’s rapist. "As many as 1 out of 4 girls and 1 out of 6 boys will experience sexual abuse before the age of 18. Three-quarters of child sexual abuse cases are committed by family members. Most perpetrators are men, commonly stepfathers." https:// slate.com/news-and-politics/20…

      SpiritualAnnie@chattrbx.comMastodon12d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
    • tend2wobble@toad.social

      Why Republicans find it so easy to defend pedophiles like Amy Acton’s rapist. https:// slate.com/news-and-politics/20 26/10/republicans-pedophiles-amy-acton-mom-vivek-ad.html

      tend2wobble@toad.socialMastodon12d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  3. 2

    Ramaswamy defends the ad on 'Fox & Friends'

    Ramaswamy appeared on Fox & Friends to defend the ad, arguing Acton herself had made abuse and family history a campaign issue first.

    1. 1 outlet Vivek Defends Ad Featuring Rival’s Mother, Says She Made The First Move

      first by Daily Wire, 13d ago

  4. 2 days quiet
  5. 1

    Obama condemns the ad while campaigning

    Former President Barack Obama criticized the ad over the weekend, calling it a breakdown in basic standards of decency for public officials.

    • michelesgreenbook.bsky.social

      Vivek Ramaswamy is using the rape and abuse of Amy Acton as a child by her indicted stepfather, which caused her mother to lose permanent custody of her, as his closing argument, with the public endorsement of the Epstein Files POTUS and his VP. It’s an indictment of the Republican Party. 1/2 🧵

      michelesgreenbook.bsky.socialBluesky17d ago40▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
    • bich@apobangpo.space

      "The tenor of the ad, which platforms a mother whose 12-year-old daughter was sexually abused by her husband while in her custody, has incensed survivors of abuse, motivated Democrats to throw additional resources in the race and prompted prominent Republicans, including current GOP Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, to denounce it." https://…

      bich@apobangpo.spaceMastodon15d agoview on Mastodon ↗

    • Personal attacks have dominated the Ohio governor’s race, even before the Ramaswamy campaign ran an ad featuring Acton’s estranged mom. Voters, on the other hand, are increasingly worried about affordability and data centers.

      newrepublic@threads.netMastodon16d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  6. background

    Trump and Vance defend the ad, tell Ramaswamy to 'keep it up' — Vance, campaigning in Cincinnati, told Republicans to stop apologizing for the ad, while Trump posted that Ramaswamy should continue and suggested mothers of other Democratic candidates come forward with similar claims.

  7. background

    Backlash spreads; Gov. Mike DeWine and other Republicans denounce ad — The ad was widely condemned across party lines, prompting DeWine and other Republicans to criticize it while Democrats directed additional resources into the race.

  8. background

    Acton responds on Facebook, defends her account — Acton posted publicly rejecting her mother's claims and accusing Ramaswamy of exploiting her trauma for political gain.

  9. background

    Ramaswamy campaign airs ad featuring Acton's estranged mother — A minute-long ad began circulating featuring Donna Arthur, Amy Acton's estranged mother, saying her daughter is a liar who fabricated her account of childhood abuse. Court records confirm Arthur lost custody of Acton and her brother in 1978 after her husband was indicted for raping the then-12-year-old Acton.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 4 outlets Vivek Ramaswamy stands by terrible Amy Acton ad, but it’s backfiring

    first by The Hill, 11d ago · also The Daily Beast, Newsweek, Daily Mail

    4 more headlines
  2. 4 outlets Vivek Ramaswamy, have you no sense of decency?

    first by The Hill, 11d ago · also Independent UK, Yahoo, Hindustan Times

    2 more headlines
  3. 3 outlets Vivek Ramaswamy’s Own Aides Warned Him Not to Run That Vile Ad

    first by New Republic, 10d ago · also Yahoo, The New Republic

  4. 2 outlets Even Vivek Ramaswamy’s former teacher has condemned his ad attacking his opponent’s past

    first by The Independent, 11d ago · also New Republic

    1 more headline
  5. 2 outlets Exclusive: Ad backfiring on Ramaswamy, GOP poll finds

    first by Mastodon, 10d ago · also Axios

    1 more headline
  6. 2 outlets Vivek Ramaswamy was warned not to air ‘liar’ ad and now staff want to resign days before election: report

    first by Independent UK, 11d ago · also The Independent

  7. 2 outlets Why Republicans Find It So Easy to Defend Child Sex Offenders Like the Man Who Raped Amy Acton

    first by Mastodon, 12d ago · also Slate

  8. 2 outlets Desperate MAGA Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Hit by New Embarrassment Over Vile Ad

    first by Yahoo, 14d ago · also Yahoo News Singapore

  9. 2 outlets Amy Acton survived childhood abuse. Her Republican opponent is using it to attack her

    first by Salon, 16d ago · also The 19th

and 6 smaller pieces

What people are saying 13 voices from 3 sites · best of 21 · verbatim

Still unanswered
  • Why did Ramaswamy's campaign run the ad despite reported internal Republican warnings that it would backfire?