Ramaswamy's campaign calls Acton's attacks over the remark cherry-picked and blatantly dishonest
Vivek RamaswamyRepublican candidate for Ohio governor, in a statement from his campaign
Ramaswamy's campaign says Acton's attacks over his Medicare and Medicaid remark rest on 30 seconds cherry-picked from an 80-minute interview and are blatantly dishonest.
“attacks from Amy Acton, based on a cherry-picked 30 seconds from an 80-minute interview, are blatantly dishonest, but sadly typical of politics practiced by a government insider who is desperate to preserve the status quo.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Vivek Ramaswamy said in 2024 that Medicare and Medicaid were mistakes; Amy Acton campaigns on the remark, and his campaign calls the attacks cherry-picked
In an October 2024 episode of The Ezra Klein Show, before he ran for Ohio governor, Vivek Ramaswamy was asked whether Medicare and Medicaid were mistakes and answered, 'I believe they were,' adding 'particularly Medicaid' and the welfare state without work requirements. In the same answer he said Medicare and Social Security belong in a different category. After a clip of the exchange circulated in January 2026, Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for governor, and the Democratic Governors Association said he wanted to take health care from Ohioans. His campaign called Acton's attacks 'blatantly dishonest' and based on 'a cherry-picked 30 seconds from an 80-minute interview.'
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Statehouse News Bureau report on Acton's and Ramaswamy's health care positions. It quotes Ramaswamy's Ezra Klein Show answer and two written statements from his campaign.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The Statehouse News Bureau's February 10, 2026, report says Acton and other Democrats have called out Ramaswamy for his October 2024 answer on the Ezra Klein podcast, when he said Medicaid and Medicare were mistakes.
After the quotation
Later in the same report, campaign spokesperson Connie Luck says in an updated statement that Acton's 'far-left approach' to health care would drive up costs.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case concerns Ramaswamy's 2024 answer that Medicare and Medicaid were mistakes. His campaign does not defend that answer as a policy position. It says Acton's use of it is cherry-picked from a longer interview and blatantly dishonest, which disputes how the remark is characterized.
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- Amy Acton
More from this case
Read the full caseAmy Acton calls Medicare and Medicaid lifelines for millions of Ohioans
“Let me be clear: these programs are lifelines for millions of Ohioans.”Read statement
Democratic Governors Association says Ramaswamy endorsed ripping away health care from millions of Ohioans
Democratic Governors Association
“Vivek Ramaswamy didn't even need to think twice before endorsing ripping away health care from millions of Ohioans who get care from Medicaid and Medicare”Read statement
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- Ramaswamy's campaign calls Acton's attacks over the remark cherry-picked and blatantly dishonest
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The Dispute Index. "Ramaswamy's campaign calls Acton's attacks over the remark cherry-picked and blatantly dishonest". First published: 2026-10-30. Last updated: 2026-10-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/7383-ramaswamy-s-campaign-says-acton-s-attacks-over