‘He’s a Bad Guy’: Nikki Haley Demolishes Vivek Ramaswamy Over Widely-Panned Attack Ad

Former South Carolina governor and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley pulled no punches this week in condemning her former GOP rival Vivek Ramaswamy over a widely panned attack ad tied to his campaign for Ohio governor.

Ramaswamy drew bipartisan fury after a Tuesday ad featuring his Democratic Party opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother was released and later tied to his campaign.

In the ad, Acton’s mother calls her a liar and attacks her character. But as the details around Acton’s relationship with her mother emerged, critics and pundits quickly accused Ramaswamy of trying to weaponize the childhood sexual abuse Acton suffered at the hands of her mother’s then-husband, which resulted in authorities removing Acton from her mother’s care.

Acton’s brother Phil Stearns taped an ad in reply to Ramaswamy saying, “I received a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it. She continued to receive that abuse because she knew she had to protect me from that, and that if she hadn’t done that, who knows where I would have ended up. And she was 11 and 12 years old, and to think that that’s somehow a talking point? Shame on Vivek. The contempt he has for Amy is the contempt he has for Ohio. He’s not fit to lead,” Stearns said in the ad.

Political operative and pundit Liz Mair shared the ad and added, “Nikki Haley and the Haley girls must be laughing their t*ts off tonight. LOL. OMG. Vivek FAIL.” Mair’s comment referred back to Ramaswamy and Haley’s nasty feud during the 2024 GOP presidential primaries, during which Ramaswamy attacked Haley’s daughter.

Haley shared Mair’s quip and added, “Not laughing. Just seeing what we tried to tell everyone back then. He’s a bad guy. It’s a shame he continues to get away with it.”

Haley was not the only big-name Republican hammering Ramaswamy over the ad.

Ex-Trump White House Communications Director Mike Dubke urged Ramaswamy to distance himself from the ad on Tuesday night – before Ramaswamy doubled down on it.

“What does this, what kind of politics are we seeing on display here?” CNN’s Kasie Hunt asked.

“Well, I mean, this is the very definition of an October surprise,” Dubke replied. “When you’re running a campaign, or you’re waiting to see if one is against you or for you, I think the way that people react when these things happen is very telling about how they’re going to be as a person in power and in government. And you don’t necessarily have any control over it. Their campaign, the Ramaswamy campaign, may have heard about this and said, “We’re staying away from this,” but you still need to come out and you need to have a proactive statement. So I hope they do that soon.”

Hunt pushed back: “I mean, if anything, they embraced it, right? We know that Amy Acton is a serial fabulist, with a series of problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of before deciding who to entrust themselves with.”

As the discussion continued, panelists warned the ad “could totally backfire” and said it goes “beyond the pale.”

Watch above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!