Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy encountered a selfie opportunity that he probably didn’t expect and, afterward, definitely didn’t want.
A TikTok user named @la_sparrow posted a video on Thursday in which he tried to take a selfie with Ramaswamy.
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But as they pose for the shot, the man suggests they say a different word than “cheese.”
“Say pedophiles!” the man exclaims, much to the chagrin of Ramaswamy, who pushes the man’s right shoulder while barking, “What are you talking about? C’mon!”
The man didn’t stop.
“Why are you associating with pedophiles?” he asked, a reference to Ramaswamy’s recent attack ad against Democratic opponent Dr. Amy Acton, and to Donald Trump’s close relationship with disgraced financier and convicted *** trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
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The controversial ad featured Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, who lost custody of her children in 1978 after her husband was indicted for raping Acton.
In the video, the man continues to ask, “Why are you associating with so many?” and Ramaswamy’s pasted-on smile seems to droop a bit.
“I have a wife,” he says with gritted teeth while the man declares Ramaswamy doesn’t have “a Sam Hill’s chance of winning.”
The video appears to have been taken at Trump’s Wednesday rally in Chillicothe, but that has not been confirmed.
HuffPost reached out to the user and Ramaswamy’s campaign, but no one responded immediately.
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Both the encounter and recent polls suggest the Acton attack ad has helped her candidacy in Ohio, with her lead jumping from two points to eight after the ad’s release.
Many people seemed to appreciate the man’s attempt to rile up Ramaswamy.
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