The Rooster, an online provocateur in Ohio politics, struck a nerve with Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, sparking a rare clapback from the GOP nominee.
Ramaswamy posted on X May 28 that a report from D.J. Byrnes, aka The Rooster, was 100% fake and designed by political opponents to be recirculated as true.
“On one hand, I really didn’t want to respond because it’s so dumb. On the other hand, it’s Exhibit A of how toxic politics works & it happens often enough that I feel some obligation to lift the curtain on how the game is played,” Ramaswamy wrote in the post, which has received about 380,000 views.
Ramaswamy took a break from social media and said his accounts would be run by his staff. A message sent to his campaign staff asking if he wrote the post himself has not been answered.
How did the story get started?
Ramaswamy and his wife attended Game 4 of the NBA playoffs in Cleveland, sitting courtside as the Cavaliers got wiped out by the New York Knicks.
On that much, The Rooster and Ramaswamy agree.
The Rooster, who posts political stories and rumors via his Substack, said that after the game, Ramaswamy tried to get into the Knicks locker room under the guise of welcoming them to Ohio and using his status as the GOP-nominee for governor.
“This is nuts! He also published other vivid details. Those were also 100% nuts,” Ramaswamy said on X.
According to the post, Ramaswamy said he headed straight to his car after the game ended and there is no way he’d want to watch the Knicks celebrate their victory. “A sharp poke in the eye would’ve been more pleasant.”
The story of Ramaswamy trying to get into the Knicks locker room, however, got picked up in online posts.
“Ohio Democrats then repeatedly boosted the so-called ‘story’ on social media, and the Daily Beast & others write ‘news’ stories about it. Then hundreds of others cite the Daily Beast’s reporting and literally turn their fantasy into ‘truth,'” Ramaswamy’s post on X said.
He called it a dirty game that dissuades people from getting into politics.
Byrnes reported other unproven allegations about Ramaswamy in the recent past.
Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?
Ramaswamy is the Republican nominee for governor in the 2026 election to replace Mike DeWine, who is term limited. Ramaswamy is facing Democrat Amy Acton, a public health doctor who led the Ohio Department of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Born to Indian immigrants in suburban Cincinnati, Ramaswamy graduated from Harvard and Yale Law School before starting several businesses. He ran for president in 2024, and President Donald Trump tapped him to help lead the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency. Trump endorsed Ramaswamy for Ohio governor, which helped him clear the primary field.
Ramaswamy is a billionaire who can fundraise. He loaned his campaign $25 million to date, raised another $25 million and has $30.7 million in the bank.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Vivek Ramaswamy says blogger’s story about his behavior at Cavs game ‘fake’
Reporting by Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
