Vice President JD Vance says Republicans should "stop whining" about gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's (R-OH) recent ad that features his opponent, Amy Acton's (D-OH), estranged mother. Vance says Republicans can have their opinion on whether the ad was "too tough," but admits that he is "a little bit disgusted" when seeing GOP candidates and elected officials whine more about the ad than of what Democrats are doing in the U.S. "Politics is a tough business and my message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days," he says. In the ad, Acton's mother, Donna Arthur, called Acton a "liar" and claimed she has mental health issues. Arthur lost custody of her children after Acton's stepfather was charged with sexually abusing Acton when she was a child.
Vance’s whole ‘values’ issue has been about failures of American parenting and absent fathers. Vance’s background and Acton’s background have some parallels; they both overcame traumatic childhoods and became successful, prominent adults.
If Vance actually held the principles he claims, he would be hailing Acton as an American success story that teaches the value of determination, grit, optimism, and hard work.
But he’s not doing that.