Conservative commentator Scott Jennings criticized Vice President JD Vance for dismissing Republican objections to a controversial campaign ad by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Jennings argued that the criticism reflects genuine concerns about the ad’s moral implications and political consequences.
According to him, the objections were not simply complaints from within the Republican Party.
Scott Jennings rejected the vice president’s description of Republican critics
According to The Daily Beast, the controversy centers on a $4 million ad funded by Ramaswamy’s campaign. It features Amy Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a “liar.” Acton has said her stepfather sexually abused her as a child and that her mother defended him.
On Wednesday, Vance criticized Republicans who objected to the advertisement. He said he was “a little bit disgusted” that they were “whining more about that advertisement” than about what Democrats wanted to do to the country.
Appearing on CNN’s NewsNight, Jennings rejected that characterization. “I took some issue with that today because I don’t see people whining about this,” he said. Instead, he argued that Republicans were warning about the potential fallout from the campaign’s decision.
Jennings explained, “There’s a heck of a lot of Republicans in Ohio and elsewhere who would love to see a Republican get elected governor of Ohio, who do not believe that this is a defensible ad, nor do they believe it’s a good strategy.”
He also cautioned that attacking Republicans who raise concerns could prove counterproductive in Ohio. “This is not whining. From what I’ve heard from my people in Ohio, it’s warning that this may have actually been a backfire. It’s gonna blow up in their face,” Jennings said.
A recent Fox News poll cited by The Daily Beast showed Acton leading Ramaswamy by two points. Jennings argued that once a campaign makes a controversial decision, it must answer for the consequences.
