OHGov

Columbus, Ohio- In case you missed it, the Ironton Tribune editorial board slammed Vivek Ramaswamy’s botched education policy rollout where he revealed a policy so bad his own supporters thought it was AI. Even Republicans know Ramaswamy has the wrong idea for Ohio.

See for yourself: 

• Last week, the campaign of Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton posted a seven-second clip of her rival, Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to her social media feeds. 

• The clip featured Ramaswamy making a pitch to do away with summer break for students, making schools go year round and extend the length of the school day in the state.  

• Setting aside the fact that year-round school has been proven to costs states more, due to increased expenses, such as utilities, wear and tear on buildings, as well as more staffing and administrative costs, looking at schools as a way to provide cheap or “free” babysitters shows Ramaswamy may have his priorities wrong when it comes to educational policy.  […]

•  So it came as no surprise that the idea was deeply unpopular with many, even in Ramaswamy’s own party.  

• Conservative commentator Meghan McCain described it “an absolutely insane idea” and said it was “completely removing the importance of family bonding time and anything non-academic related.”  

• Rather than defend Ramaswamy’s policy idea, some Republicans and conservatives instead tried a different approach – concocting an elaborate, ludicrous conspiracy theory to try to clear away Ramaswamy’s ill-received idea.  

• And Ramaswamy’s campaign eventually admitted, to the Columbus Dispatch, that the video, which they had deleted, was, in fact, a legitimate recording of their candidate.

• Ramaswamy’s campaign owes Ohioans a better explanation here. Simply erasing the video, after their allies tried to claim it was fake, and hoping the matter vanishes down the memory hole is not sufficient.  

• This entire display has been pure amateur hour – whether it is the nonsensical claims of fringe media figures Ramaswamy allies with or the campaign’s garbled explanation of the video and lack of clarification of his position, whatever that may be.  

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Mediaite: ‘ENOUGH’: Meghan McCain Outraged at Vivek Ramaswamy’s Deleted Plan for Year-Round School

“Republican commentator Meghan McCain branded Vivek Ramaswamy’s (R) plan to keep kids in school year-round as “absolutely insane.””

“McCain then eviscerated the idea.

“This is an absolutely insane idea – completely removing the importance of family bonding time and anything non academic related.”

The New Republic: Dem Shares Vivek Ramaswamy Video So Dumb, His Fans Think It’s AI

“MAGA Republicans accused a Democrat running against Vivek Ramawamy for Ohio governor of posting an AI-generated video of the DOGE czar-for-a-day pitching a truly terrible policy idea. Too bad for them, because the video was actually real.”

“That proposal was so blatantly bad that Republicans immediately started to accuse Acton of sharing a fake video. Far-right commentator Tim Pool claimed on his show Tuesday that the video Acton shared was AI and that the audio had been “replaced.””

“It turns out, the only one manipulating the video was Ramaswamy. The full video was originally posted to Ramaswamy’s social media accounts before being removed. Another version of the video was later reposted without the Republican’s plan to extend school hours, according to The Columbus Dispatch.”

Huffington Post: Vivek Ramaswamy Pitches Idea So Extreme Supporters Think His Opponent Made AI Video

“Conservatives had an extreme reaction to a video posted by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Monday ― with many convinced it must be AI.”

“Even worse for Ramaswamy: One of the ideas proposed in the clip was apparently so extreme that people inclined to support his candidacy were convinced the video was a smear made by his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton.”

“Ramaswamy tried to counter the controversy by posting another video in which he accused Democrats like Acton of “distorting my position” on education, but didn’t mention the year-round proposal from the earlier video.”

“This isn’t the first time Ramaswamy’s views about the American education system have come back to bite him….Last December, he was heavily criticized after declaring that “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long,” and that a “culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.”

The Daily Beast: MAGA Insists Real Vivek Ramaswamy Policy Proposal Is AI

“MAGA has tried to excuse a real clip of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy proposing “year-round” school as AI.”

“The video was posted on Monday afternoon and was up for several hours before it was deleted and replaced with a version that removed Ramaswamy’s year-round school proposal. He did, however, leave the original up on his Threads account. It is unclear why Ramaswamy deleted the proposal from his other platforms.”

Yahoo: Fact Check: Gubernatorial Opponent Amy Acton Did NOT Spread A Fake Video Of Vivek Ramaswamy Advocating Year-Round School — He Did Say It

“Did Ohio Democrat Amy Acton spread a fake video of Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy advocating year-round school, as social media posts claim? No, that’s not true:”

The Center Square: Ramaswamy edits video initially proposing year-round school

“Ohio Republican governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is quickly backing away from an idea to send children to school year-round and extend the school day.”

“Republicans initially claimed that Acton’s camp created the video using deepfake AI, but the campaign confirmed to the Columbus Dispatch that the video was real.”

“The video did not include any discussion of increased taxpayer costs for year-round schools or an extended school day.”

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Columbus, Ohio- After Vivek Ramaswamy was slammed for his out-of-touch video suggesting that making school year round was the best way to help working families, his supporters claimed the video was fake. Ramaswamy deleted and reposted the video in a desperate attempt at damage control, but confirmed the video was real.

“Even Ramaswamy’s biggest supporters know what voters across the state are learning now: Ramaswamy is a billionaire who doesn’t understand what Ohioans are going through while he’s flying cross country on a private jet,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “His policies are clearly out-of-touch and wrong for Ohio, which is why his biggest fans embarrassingly thought his video was AI.”

Read more: 

The New Republic: Dem Shares Vivek Ramaswamy Video So Dumb, His Fans Think It’s AI

• MAGA Republicans accused a Democrat running against Vivek Ramawamy for Ohio governor of posting an AI-generated video of the DOGE czar-for-a-day pitching a truly terrible policy idea. Too bad for them, because the video was actually real.

• Former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton, a Democratic primary candidate for governor in Ohio, shared a clip on X Monday that showed Ramaswamy pitching an outrageous idea to lower the cost of childcare.

• “Make parenting more affordable by making school year-round and going to four o’clock instead of three o’clock, so you don’t have to pay for childcare,” Ramaswamy said in the video.

• That proposal was so blatantly bad that Republicans immediately started to accuse Acton of sharing a fake video. Far-right commentator Tim Pool claimed on his show Tuesday that the video Acton shared was AI and that the audio had been “replaced.”

• It turns out, the only one manipulating the video was Ramaswamy. The full video was originally posted to Ramaswamy’s social media accounts before being removed. Another version of the video was later reposted without the Republican’s plan to extend school hours, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

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Columbus, Ohio- Ohioans have grown used to Vivek Ramaswamy’s string of lies as he desperately attempts to walk back his stance on releasing the Epstein files. He called for the release of the files 11 times while running for president, then went silent for nearly two years. 

“Ohioans need a governor who will stand up for them even when it’s not easy. Vivek Ramaswamy shouldn’t need a permission slip to speak out against sexual abuse,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “When asked about the Epstein files Ramaswamy ran away from reporters and laughably claimed he’s focused on ‘state issues’ while flying to campaign stops in Virginia and New Jersey on his private jet. His 11th hour admission that exposing pedophiles is something he supports will be seen by voters as the transparent political calculation that it is.”

This isn’t even the first time Ramaswamy has desperately tried to backpedal away from his out-of-touch stances. He already revealed his true feelings about Ohioans when he called them “lazy” and “mediocre and has not apologized. Even his own party knows Ramaswamy is deeply out of touch with Ohioans and voters will reject him in 2026.

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Columbus, Ohio– Over the weekend, Vivek Ramaswamy visited a food bank in Dayton, and his message to hungry children was to learn to read faster. Here’s what he said when asked how to combat childhood hunger:

“By the end of third grade if you’re reading, you are basically statistically near impossible…to end up in poverty.”

“We shouldn’t be surprised that an out of touch billionaire who flies around on a private jet and says Ohio workers are lazy and mediocre is arguing that the root cause of childhood hunger is because kids aren’t learning how to read fast enough,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “The more Vivek Ramaswamy opens his mouth, the more Ohioans see that he simply doesn’t understand what they’re struggling with and his endless stream of nonsense is designed to distract from the fact that as Governor he would make life better for billionaires like himself while the rest of us continue struggling with the cost of living.”

Ramaswamy already revealed his true feelings about Ohioans when he called them “lazy” and “mediocre.” He wants to gut public education and dismantle teachers’ unions. Even his own party knows Ramaswmy is deeply out of touch with Ohioans and voters will reject him in 2026.

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