NOT MY PROBLEM

Trump Pal Ramaswamy Gives Bonkers Excuse for Vile Attack Ad

The Republican candidate for Ohio governor has tried to distance himself from accusations that his attack ad challenged his opponent’s rape claims.

Vivek Ramaswamy has claimed his controversial attack ad calling his opponent in the Ohio gubernatorial race a liar had nothing to do with the sexual abuse she suffered as a child.

His bizarre remark came amid a growing storm over the ad, which features Democratic candidate Amy Acton’s estranged mother attacking her daughter’s credibility.

“She is a liar,” said Donna Arthur, 82. “She lies about her past.”

Acton, 60, has said she has not seen her mother since childhood, after her mother failed to protect her from sexual abuse by her stepfather, who was charged with raping her.

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“Our ad had nothing, nothing to do with childhood abuse, sexual abuse,” Ramaswamy said on Friday. “We condemn that as forcefully as anyone.

“Our ad was about a consistent track record of Amy Acton telling lies, including during this campaign, and I do think that there has been very little to no coverage of the lies she has told about me, about my family, about my mother, and an ad they put up falsely calling me a murderer of a man’s wife.”

The 41-year-old Republican candidate for Ohio governor is refusing to back down over a controversial attack ad that has sparked a civil war within the GOP, accusing the media of running interference for his opponent and defending Trump for backing him.

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“We’re not going to dignify those lies by bending the knee to their deflection,” Ramaswamy said at a campaign stop in Ohio on Friday after Gov. Mike DeWine called on the Republican gubernatorial nominee to pull the ad.

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The escalating row threatens to overshadow the GOP’s final-week push to win over Ohio voters, with Republicans increasingly concerned about the political fallout.

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GOP insiders in Ohio fear not only that Ramaswamy’s chances are shot, but also that the attack ad will affect the marquee Senate race they’re fighting to win between incumbent Republican John Husted and former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown.

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“I was cautiously optimistic on Tuesday; now I fear the bottom’s dropping out and we’re losing critical independents,” one operative told the Daily Beast.

Ramaswamy also lashed out at reporters for what he described as their silence over Democratic attacks on him, including an advertisement that he said falsely portrayed him as responsible for a man’s wife’s death.

He accused the media of applying a double standard, echoing Trump’s defense of the ad and his broader complaints about hostile coverage.

“If this were President Trump or a family member of a similarly situated Republican, it would be front-page news,” Ramaswamy said.

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Ramaswamy’s campaign plans to spend $4 million promoting the ad, despite Republican warnings that the deeply personal attack could backfire.

Some voters have expressed disgust with the ad, while others have said they may refuse to vote for either gubernatorial candidate—a potential problem for Trump as he tries to mobilize Republicans ahead of the midterms.

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“He’s a snake,” says Judy Routhier, a protester the Daily Beast found holding up a sign outside a GOP campaign stop on Friday morning. It featured an image of Ramaswamy emblazoned with the words “No one slithers lower than Vivek.”

Another protester, Elaine Bayless, said the ad was a disgrace. “They don’t believe that they can win this on the issues, so they decided to play dirty.”

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Farrah TomazinPolitical Correspondent

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