US President Donald Trump instructed Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to keep airing a deeply controversial TV advertisement featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent – saying it was “hitting pay dirt” – despite a growing backlash to the commercial within the party.
asserted
it → instruct → party
Trump told a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, that Ramaswamy rang him for advice on whether to take down the ad after calls to do so from several prominent Republicans, including the outgoing governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, whom Ramaswamy is running to replace.
asserted
Ramaswamy → tell → whom
“The ad, on its face, is deeply, deeply troubling,” DeWine said.
asserted
DeWine → say → face
“But when you know the rest of the story, when you know the backstory
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you → know → backstory
It’s wrong to run this ad.
asserted
It → ’ → ad
I would just urge the Ramaswamy campaign to take this down.
asserted
I → urge → this
It’s just wrong.”
asserted
It → ’ → ?
The ad features Donna Arthur, the estranged mother of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, calling her daughter a lifelong liar who should not be trusted with political office.
asserted
who → feature → office
But Arthur has not had contact with her daughter since 1978, when Acton and her brother were removed from their mother’s care following a report of alleged sexual abuse by their stepfather.
asserted
Acton → have → stepfather
He was charged and indicted, but never faced trial as he fled the state.
asserted
he → charge → state
Arthur remained married to him until his death.
asserted
Arthur → remain → death
The ad has been widely seen as having crossed an ethical line.
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ad → see → line
Acton’s brother, Phil Stearns, called it a “desperate, disgusting attack” that revealed Ramaswamy as “a pathetic excuse for a man”.
asserted
that → call → man
Jon Husted, the Republican Senate candidate in Ohio who is struggling against Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown, also said he would not have run the commercial.
asserted
he → struggle → commercial
But Trump told the rally in Sioux City that when Ramaswamy sought his advice, he encouraged the candidate to keep the ad on the air.
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he → tell → air
“When I first saw it, I thought, ‘Wow, that means Vivek will easily win the race’,” Trump recounted.
asserted
Trump → see → race
“Then I got a call from Vivek.
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I → get → Vivek
He said, ‘What would you recommend? Because I’m getting killed in the press’.”
asserted
I → say → press
Trump said he told Ramaswamy to “ride with it”.
asserted
he → say → it
It was only natural for a political candidate to make an ad with ammunition such as Arthur had provided, he said.
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he → make → ammunition
“The mother is calling the daughter a terrible person and a liar.
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mother → call → daughter
Why would you shield somebody from that?
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you → shield → that
So I told him: leave it up, and look upstairs and say, ‘thank you, God’.”
asserted
I → tell → you
Earlier, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the ad was “hitting pay dirt”, and criticised DeWine over his call for the commercial to be withdrawn.
“He probably wants a Dumocrat to win, and certainly doesn’t want someone who will do a much better job than he is capable of doing,” Trump wrote, using a pejorative term he has coined for the Democrats.
asserted
he → write → Democrats
DeWine has endorsed Ramaswamy to succeed him, and stopped short of pulling his backing for now.
asserted
Ramaswamy → endorse → backing
DeWine recalled a previous line of attack by the Acton campaign had mentioned Ramaswamy’s mother and said that also was wrong – “family members have always historically been off limits” – though he noted it was never used in a multimillion-dollar ad campaign.
asserted
it → recall → campaign
The Ramaswamy campaign ad has become a lightning rod for debate in a country where division and extreme political discourse have become accepted as normal.
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division → become → country
For some, it has become a moral red line in a polity often devoid of standards or limits.
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it → become → standards
Ashley Hinson, an Iowa congresswoman who is running for the US Senate in that state, and spoke at Trump’s rally in Sioux City, condemned the ad in stronger terms than nearly any other Republican.
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who → run → Republican
“It’s terrible,” she told America’s ABC.
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she → ’ → ABC
“I think about it as a mum.
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I → think → mum
You think about our kids surviving childhood sexual abuse and having to relive that trauma on TV again – I think it’s absolutely terrible and I think they should take the ad down.”
asserted
they → think → ad
Vice President JD Vance, an Ohio native, expressed disgust with Republicans “whining” about the ad rather than Democrats’ policies.
asserted
Republicans → express → policies
Later, Vance said he did not want to “get in the middle” of the drama surrounding the commercial.
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he → say → commercial
Another influential Ohio Republican, former congressman Jim Renacci, posted a lengthy essay on X suggesting that “the floor may have just fallen out” of Ramaswamy’s campaign.
uncertain
floor → post → campaign
“Any Republican who fails to distance themselves from this ad risks taking on water as well,” he said.
asserted
he → fail → water
“Vivek Ramaswamy needs to pivot, and quickly.”
asserted
Ramaswamy → need → ?
If Democrats win Husted’s seat, it will bring them within striking distance of seizing control of the chamber.
asserted
it → win → chamber
Amid the turmoil, Ohio Republican Party chairman Alex Triantafilou posted what sounded like a warning or a threat.
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what → post → warning
“The final days of a tough campaign are always the best time to find out who is really with you and who just posts and pretends,” he wrote.
asserted
he → find → you
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
