Don’t let his brown skin and tech bro vigor fool you, Vivek Ramaswamy is pure MAGA and this week’s saga over an ad starring Dem rival Amy Acton’s mom might be one of the MAGA-est stories of this perilous final stretch of the election year. To recap, Acton’s mom, Donna Arthur, ripped her daughter with claims that Amy “lies about her past” struggles with homelessness and a troubled youth.
Except, well… Amy hasn’t seen Donna since 1978 when her stepfather was indicted by a grand jury for sexually abusing a then-12 year-old Amy. Donna just abandoned her and fled to parts unknown with her husband. Then Acton grew up, became a doctor, a high-ranking public health official, and now is polling ahead of Da Vek. So he swung for the fences with the ad and per Axios is now swinging harder by pumping $4 million into it because it “tested well with ‘persuadable’ voters.”
The Streisand Effecting was not lost on RealClearPolitics douchebag Sean Trende:
This is the type of ad that could bring down the entire GOP ticket if it backfires. Acton’s response ad is probably make or break. https://t.co/IehQVpHS4j
— Sean T at RCP (@SeanTrende) October 20, 2026