- Trump called getting Ohio governor candidate Dr. Amy Acton’s mom on camera ‘hitting pay dirt.’
asserted
Trump → call → dirt
- MAGA diehards may holler and stomp about how much they hate pedophiles, but they hate Democrats more.
uncertain
they → holler → Democrats
You know the one I’m talking about — Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s attack on opponent Amy Acton using her clearly troubled mother, who failed to protect Acton as a child from her rapist stepfather and instead abandoned her kids to stay with the now-deceased pedophile.
asserted
who → know → pedophile
Even in 2026, that’s a lot.
asserted
that → ’ → 2026
The ad, released last week on the internet and set for a television blitz through the election, has sparked condemnation even from Republicans.
asserted
ad → release → Republicans
President Trump and Vice President JD Vance (a close friend of Ramaswamy’s) have defended it, much to the chagrin of decent people everywhere who have labeled this a make-it-or-break-it moment for the Grand Old Party.
asserted
who → defend → Party
Trump called getting Acton’s mom on camera “hitting pay dirt.”
asserted
Trump → call → dirt
“Why shouldn’t somebody use that?” Trump said Friday.
asserted
Trump → use → that
“To me, that’s something that’s very much fair game.”
asserted
that → ’ → me
Trump’s right, in his world anyway.
asserted
Trump → ’ → world
His faithful may not like the ad, but it’s not a deal-breaker.
uncertain
it → like → ad
The appalled, left and right, are wrong on this one — this is not a turning point for the Republican Party or the moment it realized its soul was in the frying pan.
asserted
soul → realize → pan
Trump also denounced Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who criticized the ad as ‘deeply, deeply troubling’ earlier in the day.
asserted
who → denounce → day
Acton previously served in DeWine’s administration as a health official.
asserted
Acton → serve → official
When Ramaswamy loses — and he’s likely going to lose, if polls are right — it won’t be because Republican voters finally believe the party has sunk too low, lost its way or lacks morals.
asserted
party → lose → morals
And when the postmortem happens on the right, it won’t examine whether exploiting victims of sex abuse is a smart move.
asserted
exploiting → happen → abuse
Instead, the ad will eventually be seen as a great gift to Donald Trump for two reasons.
asserted
ad → see → reasons
First, it allows Ramaswamy — his endorsed candidate — to lose without it being the president’s fault for starting a war, tanking the economy and generally being entirely unpopular with average Americans.
asserted
it → allow → Americans
Get ready, because if Ramaswamy goes down, Trump will spin it that Democrats and the corrupt media misrepresented the ad and lied about Ramaswamy.
asserted
Democrats → get → Ramaswamy
Second, it allows him to test the loyalty of his MAGA acolytes ahead of 2028, and folks,
asserted
him → allow → 2028
I’m sorry to say it’s a test they are likely to pass with flying colors.
asserted
they → ’m → colors
Vance laid this out clearly in his defense, reserving his scorn for Republicans who dared to be anything but steadfast.
asserted
who → lay → Republicans
“Stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days,” Vance said in response to a question about the ad.
asserted
Vance → whine → ad
He added he was “disgusted” that his fellow Republicans were seemingly more upset about the ad “than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America.
asserted
Democrats → add → America
For all the angst about sexual abuse, even of minors, the forever Trumpers honestly don’t care as long as their candidates win and maintain power.
asserted
candidates → care → power
Ask Victim A in the Matt Gaetz allegations, or Christine Blasey Ford if you can remember that far back.
asserted
you → ask → that
The list goes on.
asserted
list → go → ?
MAGA diehards may holler and stomp about how much they hate pedophiles, but they hate Democrats more.
uncertain
they → holler → Democrats
Trump has told these voters to ignore the ad and vote Ramaswamy.
asserted
Trump → tell → Ramaswamy
I predict more of them do it than decency permits — because we’ve seen this MAGA mental split before, where they somehow set aside all of their so-called outrage when Trump tells them to do something.
asserted
Trump → predict → something
These voters are clear that the Trump regime presents a real opportunity to remake the country into a conservative bastion in ways that will be hard to undo, and they will overlook even the indecency of exploiting childhood rape.
asserted
they → present → rape
“Vivek is Great, there is no one better for Ohio.
asserted
Vivek → be → Ohio
That’s a wild story,” responded one supporter on Truth Social after Trump posted a defense of the ad.
asserted
Trump → ’ → ad
“I love how Vivek does not hesitate to call out wrongdoings,” wrote another.
asserted
another → love → wrongdoings
Others tried to turn the topic to their conspiracies about Rep. Ilhan Omar and Michigan senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, two bogeyman of the right for their race and religion.
asserted
Others → try → race
The responses of Trumpers to his post were exactly on brand — deflecting or blaming media and disinformation for skewing the issue.
asserted
responses → deflect → issue
(Trump and Ramaswamy are claiming that the ad isn’t about sexual abuse, but only about whether Acton is truthful.)
asserted
Acton → claim → abuse
With that veneer of justification, it’s likely his most devout base in Ohio, led by the 20% of voters who consider themselves white evangelicals, will stick with their guy.
asserted
themselves → ’ → guy
Nearly 8 in 10 white evangelical Protestants support Trump, and they are motivated voters who have disconnected the Trump reality from the Trump promise for years.
asserted
who → support → years
Despite all the outrage across the country about the ad, it’s likely the final tally in Ohio will remain largely as it would have been before the kerfuffle.
asserted
it → ’ → kerfuffle
…and 34 more, not listed.
The Aporia
