Ramaswamy: Acton campaign ādefamed my motherā before attack ad
The odd thing about this exchange is that both campaigns are now claiming their mothers were dragged into the fight first. Ramaswamy's defense on Fox News, that Acton's campaign defamed his mother before he put Donna Arthur on television, may be true, but it doesn't really answer the question he was asked, which was whether he regrets using an estranged mother's words against her own daughter.
Attack ads that bring in family members are a staple of politics, but there's something especially raw about using a parent to attack their child. Estrangement is complicated, and voters don't know the family history here. What we do know is that Ramaswamy chose to air the ad, and now he's framing it as retaliation rather than a choice he made independently.
I'd want to know what Acton's campaign actually said about Ramaswamy's mother, and whether it rises to the level of defamation or is just standard political criticism. If it's the latter, his justification looks thin. If it's the former, he may have a point, though two wrongs rarely make for a compelling campaign message either way.
This matters because Ohio voters are being asked to choose between two candidates who seem more interested in trading family grievances than in talking about the issues. That's a disservice to everyone who has to vote in this race.