‘What does it say about the character of the person?’: Curley questions Ramaswamy ad featuring opponent’s mother

KIRO host John Curley is questioning what a recent campaign ad said about Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy after the ad featured Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s own mother calling her a liar.

Curley played the ad on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio and raised questions about whether Ramaswamy knew about the family’s history before the ad aired.

“The question is always, what did you know, and when did you know it?” Curley said. “Did he know about it? Did he sign off on it? And the other question is, did he know about the entire backstory?”

Mother calls Acton ‘a liar’ in ad

In the ad, Acton’s mother accuses her daughter of lying about her past.

“I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent, it’s not easy for a mother to say this. But Amy has a serious problem,” she said. “She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true.”

The ad ends with a direct appeal to voters.

“Don’t vote for people who lie. Don’t let her become your governor,” she said.

Backstory draws criticism

KIRO producer Joe Wallace noted that Acton and her mother have been estranged for years. According to Wallace, Acton’s stepfather sexually abused her from age 9 to 12 and was charged, but he and Acton’s mother left the state, and the case never went to court. Wallace said Acton’s mother stayed married to him for decades.

Ramaswamy addressed the ad in a recorded clip played on the show, saying he had never met Acton or her mother.

“She was not compensated. I asked my team that question because we got the question,” Ramaswamy said.

Jason Rantz, host of “The Jason Rantz Show” on Seattle Red 770 AM, criticized the ad during an appearance on CNN.

“Prior to this, I would have voted for him if I lived in Ohio,” Rantz said. “It is so unbelievably disgusting to put this kind of ad out. … I do think he could lead, but this shows that he can’t.”

Curley says Ramaswamy faces a problem either way

Curley argued that the ad creates a problem for Ramaswamy no matter what he knew.

“If he knew all of that, and he still approved it, well, then that’s a serious character flaw,” Curley said. “But if he can show I was unaware of this, which then opens you up to the vulnerability of, well, is this the way you’re going to be as a governor? You’re going to have people doing a whole bunch of stuff and not knowing about it.”

Vance criticizes Republicans who objected

Curley also referenced comments from Vice President JD Vance, who said the ad’s appropriateness was “not really my concern.”

“I have to admit that 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 want to do,” Vance said.

Curley pushed back.

“What does it say about the character of the person?” he said. “There’s got to be some moral somewhere.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The John Curley Show” weekdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM.

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