Trump and his cronies keep using slurs like they’re going out of style—which, to be fair, they are.
asserted
they → use → style
On Monday in Kansas, Trump denounced news reports that he said portrayed Sen. Roger Marshall as “a Shylock-type guy.”
asserted
he → denounce → guy
And yesterday, after Trump tussled in the Oval Office with reporter Andrew Feinberg of the Independent—calling him a “sick person” and saying “I actually think there’s something wrong with you”—a White House communications account described Feinberg as a “Mongoloid Moron.”
asserted
account → tussle → Moron
Trump, as he ages, is losing his last fragments of self-control, and his comms staffers are rotting their brains more every day in the bigoted fever swamps of right-wing social media.
asserted
staffers → age → media
The slurs will continue until morale improves.
asserted
morale → continue → ?
Ramaswamy’s October Surprise Blows Up in His Face
by Jim Swift
asserted
Surprise → blow → Swift
Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s October surprise was supposed to make voters question Democrat Amy Acton’s character.
asserted
voters → suppose → character
Instead, yesterday, a leak of his attack ad featuring her estranged mother blew up in his face.
asserted
leak → feature → face
By Tuesday evening, after the ad had been roundly condemned—including by other Ohio Republicans—Ramaswamy’s response was to announce he would spend $4 million promoting the ad.
asserted
he → condemn → ad
The video surfaced Monday night.
asserted
video → surface → ?
DJ Byrnes, author of the Ohio politics newsletter The Rooster, published a recording featuring Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur.
asserted
Byrnes → publish → mother
Byrnes said a voter saw it in a poll, recorded it, and sent it his way.
asserted
voter → say → it
V-PAC, the super PAC supporting Ramaswamy, said it wasn’t involved.
asserted
it → support → Ramaswamy
Ramaswamy’s campaign initially defended the attack without answering directly if it was responsible.
asserted
it → defend → attack
In the minute-long video, Arthur calls Acton a liar, disputes her account of growing up homeless, and tells Ohioans not to vote for her.
asserted
Arthur → call → her
“My daughter needs help,” she says, “and she can’t help you if she needs help herself.”
asserted
she → need → help
What the ad doesn’t say is why Acton and Arthur are estranged.
asserted
Acton → say → What
Acton says she last saw her mother when she was 12.
asserted
she → say → mother
Her stepfather had been charged with raping her.
asserted
stepfather → charge → her
She and her brother were removed from their mother’s custody.
asserted
She → remove → custody
Her mother and stepfather then skipped town while out on bond, according to a 2019 account in the Youngstown Vindicator.
uncertain
mother → skip → Vindicator
National Review obtained court records corroborating key parts of Acton’s account, including the criminal proceedings against her stepfather.
asserted
Review → obtain → stepfather
Her account of abuse and homelessness was also public in 2019, years before she ran for governor.
asserted
she → run → governor
Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, has corroborated his sister’s account.
asserted
brother → corroborate → account
He says he also suffered abuse in the household, and that their mother stayed married to the man who raped Acton until his death.
asserted
who → say → death
Even Ramaswamy’s copartisans were quick to denounce the ad.
asserted
copartisans → denounce → ad
After learning of the circumstances behind Acton’s estrangement from Arthur, Dan Hauser, a strategist for Sen. Mike Lee, deleted his post sharing the video and apologized for sharing it.
asserted
Hauser → learn → it
Lydia Mihalik, the director of Ohio’s Department of Development under Gov. Mike DeWine, condemned the ad.
asserted
Mihalik → condemn → ad
Others questioned what, exactly, the campaign thought it would accomplish.
asserted
it → question → ?
Former Republican communications consultant Liz Mair said the ad made her sympathetic to Acton, while Fox News contributor Mary Katharine Ham wondered how anyone expected it not to backfire.
asserted
it → say → Acton
Chris Christie reposted footage, shared by a Democratic strategist, of himself roasting Ramaswamy on the presidential debate stage.
asserted
himself → reposte → stage
Nikki Haley weighed in, too: “Not laughing.
asserted
Haley → weigh → ?
Just seeing what we tried to tell everyone back then.
asserted
we → see → everyone
He’s a bad guy.”
asserted
He → ’ → ?
Acton’s campaign responded to the Arthur video Tuesday afternoon with an ad featuring Stearn.
asserted
campaign → respond → Stearn
“I received a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it,” he says, describing how his older sister—at “11 and 12 years old”—tried to protect him.
asserted
sister → receive → him
By Tuesday evening, the backlash had followed Ramaswamy into a town hall in Westerville.
asserted
backlash → follow → Westerville
Shortly after he took the stage, a heckler confronted him about Acton’s mother.
asserted
heckler → take → mother
The man was escorted out.
asserted
man → escort → ?
Afterward, speaking to reporters, Ramaswamy finally admitted that his campaign had made the ad.
asserted
campaign → speak → ad
…and 74 more, not listed.
The Aporia
