Ramaswamy says campaign has stopped airing ad featuring opponent's mother
The Ohio Republican nominee confirmed the attack ad on Democrat Amy Acton is no longer running after it drew widespread criticism from both parties.
At a glance
- Vivek Ramaswamy confirmed his Ohio governor campaign is no longer airing an ad featuring the estranged mother of opponent Amy Acton.
- The ad drew criticism after court records showed Acton's mother lost custody in 1978 when her husband was charged with raping Acton as a child.
- Donald Trump defended the ad, while Acton released her own ad saying Ramaswamy is exploiting her childhood to save a struggling campaign.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for governor of Ohio, confirmed on Thursday that his campaign is no longer broadcasting an attack ad that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.
Speaking to a reporter in Vandalia, Ohio, Ramaswamy said the advertisement "ran to completion and we put up four other ads." He added that he would prefer the closing stretch of the race to be about policy, and criticised Acton for not debating him.
What the ad contained
The spot drew a wave of revulsion after court records showed that Acton's mother, Donna Arthur, lost custody of her daughter in 1978, when her second husband, Cledith Arthur, was charged with raping Acton between the ages of 10 and 12. In a 2020 interview with the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, Arthur said she had been aware that Cledith Arthur was previously accused of raping his own daughter before she married him. She also called her daughter "a liar".
Ramaswamy's campaign announced last week that it would spend $4m to broadcast the ad, drawing criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike. His reference to "30-second ads" concerned the length of the spot after the campaign cut the original 60-second version, removing Arthur's claim that her daughter had lied about the family having lived in a tent with Cledith Arthur when she was a child. Court records from the time indicated that Cledith Arthur had lived in a tent when he was arrested on rape charges.
Trump backed the ad
Donald Trump repeatedly defended the ad, including at a rally with Ramaswamy on Wednesday, while refusing to acknowledge that the child rape allegation was relevant to the credibility of Acton's mother.
Reporting by NBC News and Zeteo suggests Arthur has suffered from mental health challenges and was found living in her car with dozens of cats — details that troubled some people involved in producing the ad, according to those reports.
Acton responds
Acton's campaign released its own ad on the controversy earlier on Thursday, asking: "How far will Vivek Ramaswamy go?" It warns Ohio voters that he would "smear his opponent for being raped by her stepfather when she was just 10 years old – exploiting the sexual abuse of a child and spending millions lying to you about it."
At an event on Thursday, Acton told supporters: "My brother and I experienced a lot of things, a lot of abuse and a lot of neglect. We were frequent flyers in children's services, ended up living in a tent in the middle of winter."
"My opponent has now chosen to exploit my childhood intentionally," she said. "He's doing it in a desperate attempt to save his struggling campaign. But I'll tell you, Mr Ramaswamy, it's not going to work."
Source: The Guardian.
Questions and answers
- Why did Vivek Ramaswamy stop running the attack ad about Amy Acton's mother?
- Ramaswamy said the ad "ran to completion" and that his campaign had put up four other ads. The spot drew criticism from Democrats and Republicans after it featured Acton's estranged mother.
- What did the ad say about Amy Acton's mother?
- It featured Donna Arthur, who lost custody of Acton in 1978 when her second husband, Cledith Arthur, was charged with raping Acton between the ages of 10 and 12. Arthur called her daughter "a liar" in a 2020 interview.
- What did Amy Acton say about the ad?
- Acton said her opponent had "chosen to exploit my childhood intentionally" in a "desperate attempt to save his struggling campaign", and that it would not work.
