Tim Ryan is supported by George Soros: Vance
Ohio U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance sounds off on his opponent Tim Ryan and the source of money in politics on ‘Hannity.’
Ohio Republican Senate nominee JD Vance’s campaign blasted PolitiFact for a "humiliating display of partisanship" after it issued a widely panned fact-check about a campaign ad tying opponent Tim Ryan to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Vance unveiled a new campaign ad last month that showed Ryan, D., telling MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, "I do love her," when asked about Pelosi, adding that he votes with her 100% of the time. PolitiFact, a product of The Poynter Institute, decided to investigate the ad and declared it was only "Half True" because Ryan challenged Pelosi, D-Calif., for the minority leader position in 2016.
PolitiFact was swiftly roasted on social media and Vance’s campaign scolded the "dishonest" fact-check.
"PolitiFact should be embarrassed by this humiliating display of partisanship. Our ad is 100% accurate and they know that. They issued their dishonest rating because they operate more like a Democrat Super PAC than an independent fact-checker. Simply put, PolitiFact has zero legitimacy and Ohioans know that," a Vance campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
JD Vance speaks on stage during CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Texas 2022 conference at Hilton Anatole. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
POLITIFACT FOCUSES FACT-CHECKS MORE ON BIDEN'S CRITICS THAN PRESIDENT HIMSELF, STUDY FINDS
PolitiFact admitted "Ryan’s voting record in the current Congress does align with Biden’s agenda and Pelosi’s recent votes," but insisted "the more glaring issue with the ad is that it snips out Ryan’s explanation of why he thought Pelosi should no longer lead the party" in 2016.
"Vance’s ad does not account for Ryan’s notable decision to challenge Pelosi’s leadership after the 2016 election, leaving viewers without the full story," PolitiFact wrote. "Vance’s statement is partially accurate but takes things out of context. We rate this statement Half True."
PolitiFact was recently the subject of a Media Research Center study that indicated it was more concerned with making sure critics of President Biden are held accountable than the White House itself.
During Biden’s first 20 months in office, there were 58 pieces published by PolitiFact to fact-check the president compared to a staggering 338 pieces fact-checking Biden critics, according to the study. Conservative strategist Chris Barron told Fox News Digital that "PolitiFact has instead chosen to weaponize their work for partisan political purposes," and the Vance fact-check didn’t exactly help the organization’s reputation among the right.
PolitiFact promoted its fact-check by tweeting, "An ad for candidate J.D. Vance portrays Tim Ryan as in lockstep with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, playing a clip of Ryan saying ‘I do love her.’ Although the Democrats’ voting records are fairly aligned, the clip leaves out Ryan’s bid against her in 2016."
Ohio Senate GOP nominee JD Vance's campaign blasted Politifact for a "humiliating display of partisanship" after it issued a "fact-check" about a campaign ad tying opponent Rep. Tim Ryan to Nancy Pelosi. (AP )
One critic called it "truly one of the best / worst examples of PolitiFact picking sides," while radio host Joe Cunningham added, "The ad was entirely accurate, so it’s half-true."
Republican communications specialist Matt Whitlock responded, "The best propaganda defense left-wing dark money can buy. Ryan can vote with Pelosi literally 100% of the time and say he loves her, but unless ads note the unrelated fact that he pretended to challenge her 6 years ago, ads about their closeness are ‘half true.’ Garbage."
Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Tim Ryan and Ohio GOP Senate candidate J.D. Vance. (Gaelen Morse/Bloomberg, Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The Federalist senior editor David Harsanyi noted, "Republican political ads will be fact-checked unless they include unrelated information to ensure full historical context and fairness," and GOP strategist Andrew Surabian wrote, "PolitiFact is a partisan clown show."
Ohio is a top general election battleground, although former President Trump carried the Buckeye State by considerable margins in 2016 and 2020. With five weeks to go until Election Day, an average of the most recent public opinion polls shows Ryan and Vance in one of the nation's tightest contests.
PolitiFact didn't respond to a request for comment.
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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