The spectacle has also become a political football during the mayor’s race this fall, prompting commentary from Cincinnati Republican mayoral candidate Cory Bowman, Elon Musk and prominent social media accounts like Libs of TikTok as well as Ramaswamy himself.

Vivek Ramaswamy faced accusations at a Cincinnati town hall that Black history has been swept under the rug in America, particularly when it comes to the debate around rising crime.