Trump defends Ramaswamy ad featuring Acton's estranged mother amid backlash

President Donald Trump on Thursday defended a controversial campaign ad by Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, calling Acton a liar. The ad has drawn bipartisan backlash.

The ad and the backlash

The ad features Donna Arthur, Acton's mother, saying Acton has "lied her entire life." In the ad, Arthur says: "Don't vote for people who lie. Don't let her become your governor. If you think she'll make your life better, you're fooling yourself. It will only get worse." Acton has said she has not seen her mother since she was 12 years old. The backlash focused on the fact that Acton's stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was charged with raping her when she was a child and was married to Acton's mother. Cledith Arthur fled after his arrest and remained a fugitive until his death in Pennsylvania in 2004.

Trump's defense

In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump said Ramaswamy "put up a very powerful Ad about a mother saying that her daughter, Amy Acton, who is running for Governor of Ohio, is a liar, and much worse." He said the press is trying to get Ramaswamy to take down the ad, and that he suggested Ramaswamy "should keep it up." Trump criticized Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for calling for the ad to be taken down, even as DeWine continues to support Ramaswamy's candidacy to succeed him. DeWine said earlier Thursday that the ad is "deeply, deeply troubling." Trump later told reporters he had "no idea" about Acton's allegation of being raped by her mother's husband and questioned when Acton had made that claim.

Vance and others weigh in

Vice President JD Vance, during a visit to Cincinnati, said it was "not really my concern" whether the ad was appropriate. But he also said he is "a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America." Vance said the media and Ohio Democrats are obsessed because Ramaswamy "had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar."

Ramaswamy's campaign has spent nearly $95,000 to air the ad so far, according to AdImpact, with more than 100 airings concentrated in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. The campaign has said it committed $4 million to air the ad.

Acton on Thursday said of the ad: "It was a horrible and hideous thing to do. A sad thing. And I feel like it was an exploitative thing to do." Her brother, Philip Stearns, told The New York Times earlier this week that he and Acton were removed from their mother's custody after their stepfather was arrested. "Our birth mother stayed married to Amy's rapist until he died," Stearns said. "This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core — a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants."

Former Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, told Politico on Thursday that the ad should be taken down. "The increasing incivility in the political arena should concern us all," Portman said. "This ad is an unfortunate example of that broader trend. It crosses the line. I hope the ad will be taken down and the final days of the campaign will focus on policy differences."

Source: CNBC Top News.