Vance Defends Ramaswamy's Indecency & Inhumanity Towards Acton in Ohio Governor's Race

(BlueSky screenshot of JD Vance at GOP rally in Sharonville, Ohio October 21, 2026)

As much as Democrats annoy me with their incessant Israel bashing, MAGA Republicans insist on engaging in indecency. 

This is evident in the Ohio Governor's race between Democrat Dr. Amy Acton, who was the state's top public health official during the COVID pandemic, and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.

Last night, after there was initially no attribution, Ramaswamy disclosed his campaign produced an ad featuring Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, accusing her daughter of being a liar. What Ramaswamy's campaign does not disclose in this ad is that Acton and her younger brother were removed from her mother's custody after her stepfather sexually abused her. Nor does it disclose that Acton's mother ran off with the stepfather and remained with him until his death in 2004. Far from showing any sense of shame, Ramaswamy's campaign will spend $4 million to air the ad.

Now a good many Republicans have seen fit to denounce the ad. Former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said of Ramaswamy, "He's a bad guy. It's a shame he continues to get away with it."

Well, you know who think Ramaswamy isn't a bad guy?

JD Vance

Of course, Vance represented Ohio in the U.S. Senate before Donald Trump named him his running mate in 2024. It's one thing to stick up for a guy from your state. It's quite another to go out of your way to prove you're an even bigger jerk than Ramaswamy.

First, Vance took aim at Haley and other Republicans critical of Ramaswamy:

I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America.

But he didn't stop there. At a Republican rally for Ramaswamy and Ohio GOP Senator Jon Husted this evening in Sharonville, Ohio, just outside of Cincinnati, Vance dove in headfirst before checking if there was water below:

Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar.

I think that a person who is more worried about whether somebody says something mean about them, that person -- that person could never serve in the governor's mansion of the great state of Ohio.

Calls it out like it is?

JD Vance just told the world that he believes Amy Acton is lying about being raped by her stepfather. 

I would call Vance a contemptible human being, but I do not believe he possesses an ounce of humanity.

His second sentence demonstrates it in spades along with a dose of chutzpah. Donald Trump always complains about people saying mean things about him and threatens to jail these people. Of course, Vance is perfectly fine with Trump serving in the White House especially as he is but a heartbeat away from the Oval Office.

But this is beyond mean. Ramaswamy is suborning slander and Vance is cheering him on.

Of course, it also says a great deal about Vance's character or lack thereof. Vance believes Acton's mother, a woman with whom the good doctor has not spoken with in nearly 50 years. 

The state removed Acton and her brother from her care because she was a danger to them. Donna Arthur has no standing to speak about Amy Acton. Vance's endorsement of Ramaswamy's elevation of Acton's estranged mother is an insult to every child who has ever endured physical or sexual abuse from a parent.

Amy Acton is far more fit to serve as Ohio's next governor than Vivek Ramaswamy. As for Vance, he is both unfit to serve in his current office as well as in the higher office he is likely to seek.