President Donald Trump issued a lengthy statement defending Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy after the MAGA Republican aired a controversial attack ad featuring his opponent’s estranged mother.
The ad, released earlier this week, features Democratic candidate Dr. Amy Acton’s mother branding her daughter a “liar” and urging Ohio residents not to vote for her.
Ramaswamy has faced intense backlash over the ad due to the fact that Acton has not spoken to her mother, Donna Arthur, in decades. Arthur lost custody of her children after her husband, Cledith Arthur, was indicted for raping Acton. He was never prosecuted for the rape charge, and the couple fled the state.
On Tuesday, Trump praised the video as “very powerful” in a Truth Social post, while attacking media coverage and Republicans who opposed it.
“The Press, in a concerted and well coordinated attack, is trying to get Vivek Ramaswamy to ‘take down the Ad,’” Trump wrote. “Frankly, anybody whose mother spoke about a daughter in that way would normally lead to the daughter being precluded from serving in Office, let alone the Office of Governor.”
The president then targeted Ohio Governor Mike DeWine who called the ad “deeply, deeply troubling.” DeWine is one of several Republicans who have condemned the ad and urged Ramaswamy to take it down.
“He probably wants a Dumocrat to win, and certainly doesn’t want someone who will do a much better job than he is capable of doing,” Trump said of DeWine.
“I suggested, on the other hand, that Vivek should keep it up, and let everyone listen to the mother of a defective, dishonest, and incapable Candidate, explain how the daughter is a DISASTER…”
“Who wouldn’t use such an Ad? I would,” he added.
After the ad went viral on social media, Acton’s campaign issued a statement condemning the “platforming” of her “estranged and abusive mother” as a “despicable low.”
Numerous Democrats denounced the ad as did a number of Republicans. Ohio Republican Senator Jon Husted, who is running to complete the remainder of JD Vance’s Senate term and appeared with Trump at an event last week, said: “I would not have run that ad.”
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who ran against Ramaswamy for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential primaries, labeled her former opponent “a bad guy,” and added: “It's a shame he continues to get away with it.”
Dan Hauser, a Republican strategist for Utah Senator Mike Lee, apologized for sharing the ad on social media. “I posted the video of Amy Acton’s mother without understanding the details behind their relationship and the very serious accusations that caused their issues,” Hauser said.
Conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings warned it would “blow up” in the Republican Party’s face and harm Ramaswamy’s chances of becoming governor.
Ramaswamy has said he views the ad as “legitimate.”
"It is an ad from our campaign, and the thing that I want to say is that I would love for this race and this election to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans, and unfortunately, Amy Acton has been hiding from those issues,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “She won't debate me.”
Voters will head to the polls on November 3 to choose Ohio’s next governor, with polls showing a tight race in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the office since 2006.