Donald Trump has defended a campaign advert by Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, despite criticism from senior Republicans.
The advert shows Donna Arthur calling her daughter a “liar” and seeking to undermine her credibility. Acton’s campaign has condemned it, while her brother, Philip Stearns, described it as “a despicable low”.
Trump said Ramaswamy should leave the advert in place, claiming that the press was “trying to convince everyone that this Ad is bad, because it’s so good!”
The president’s intervention came after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine urged the Ramaswamy campaign to withdraw it. “It’s wrong to run this ad,” Mr DeWine told reporters. “I would urge Ramaswamy’s campaign to take this down.”
Mr DeWine did not withdraw his endorsement of Mr Ramaswamy. Ohio Republican senator John Husted said he “would not have run that ad”, while South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace called it the “most shameful, disgusting, offensive ad this election season”.
Trump defends Vivek Ramaswamy advert
Court documents provided by the Acton campaign state that Ms Arthur’s late husband was charged with raping Acton, who said the alleged abuse took place when she was aged between 10 and 12. He pleaded not guilty, left the area while on bail and the case never went to trial.
Stearns said Ms Arthur had remained married to the man accused by Acton until his death. He accused Ramaswamy of turning “the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old” into a political issue.
Trump did not refer to the family history in his social media post praising the advert. When reporters later told him about it on the White House South Lawn, he said: “Well I know nothing about it.”
He added that he only knew Acton’s mother had said “very bad things” about her daughter, and argued that such comments would attract attention if they had been made about him.
“I’m defending it because I know that if that ad were about my mother, you would love it, you would love every inch of it,” Mr Trump said.
Vice President JD Vance has also defended the advert, telling Republicans who criticised it to “stop whining”. Trump repeated his support at a rally in Iowa, saying he had advised Ramaswamy: “you gotta ride with it.”
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said he “probably wouldn’t run an ad like that”, but added that every candidate was entitled to make their own decision.
