Swing and a Miss: Ramaswamy Deletes Viral Batting Cage Video

Vivek Ramaswamy deleted a campaign video of himself taking swings in a batting cage after the clip became an online punch line and an eyewitness raised questions about how the footage was edited.

The Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee posted the video Tuesday as part of a series outlining “10 things” he would do as governor. Between policy pitches, the video showed Ramaswamy taking swings from an automatic pitching machine.

The footage quickly drew criticism from Democrats and others who mocked Ramaswamy’s form.

David Pepper, the Ohio Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor running alongside gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, used the video to take a broader shot at Ramaswamy’s business career.

“If you think Vivek’s baseball swing is atrocious, wait til you see the disturbing way he first made his millions,” Pepper wrote on X.

The Ohio Democratic Party also took the opportunity to mock Ramaswamy, posting a press release titled “Swing and a Miss! Ten Ways Vivek Ramaswamy Would Strike Out for Ohio’s Working Families.”

Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pennsylvania) also piled on, writing on Facebook that unless something is done about Ramaswamy’s “private equity friends” driving up the cost of youth sports, “American kids will grow up thinking that’s how you hit a baseball.” He accompanied the post with a video of himself in a batting cage.

Ryan Busse, a former Democratic congressional candidate in Montana, mocked Ramaswamy’s swing as particularly at odds with the Republican Party’s emphasis on masculinity.

“The party of ultimate masculinity highlights a gov candidate swinging a bat with the force and form of an 87yr old grandmother,” Busse posted on X.

But the criticism went beyond jokes about Ramaswamy’s swing.

Michael Peacock, who said he was at the same batting cage when Ramaswamy filmed the video, told TiffinOhio.net that Ramaswamy took roughly 25 pitches and made contact only a handful of times. Peacock also said the campaign appeared to reuse footage from the same few swings.

The campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The original video is no longer available on Ramaswamy’s social media accounts, though copies and screenshots continue to circulate online.

Ramaswamy will face Acton in the general election Nov. 3. Recent polling shows the two neck and neck in the race.