Trump Defends Controversial Ramaswamy Attack Ad Targeting Amy Acton
It has been nearly a week since Vivek Ramaswamy green-lighted a vicious attack ad against Amy Acton. While several Republican leaders have condemned the ad, President Donald Trump is doubling down and defending Ramaswamy and the campaign message. Here is the latest on this ugly situation developing in Ohio.
President Trump Defends Vicious Ramaswamy Ad
The ad attacks are becoming more brutal as the November 3 midterm election date draws closer. The latest ad to raise ire on both sides of the political aisle came from the camp of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The attack ad originally aired early last week, featuring Dr. Amy Acton's estranged mother calling her a liar.
Ramaswamy's team confirmed that it was behind the ad shortly after it aired. Acton's stepfather was charged with raping her when she was 12 years old. In the ad, Acton's mother, Donna Arthur, is shown saying that her daughter is a liar and needs help.
Despite sparking widespread criticism for the decision to run the ad, President Trump has remained steadfast in his support for Ramaswamy. On Thursday, the president wrote on Truth Social that the ad was "very powerful.” Trump went on to accuse the news media of launching a “concerted and well coordinated attack” to remove the ad from the airwaves.
Trump did not stop there. He also 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,” he said. "If my mother, the legendary Mary MacLeod Trump, said anything bad about me, the Fake News would play it up." Trump went on to criticize the Democrats, saying, “The Dumocrats would be totally supportive, and it would go down as the Ad of the Decade — Maybe the Century! It would win Awards for Excellence in Advertising.”
It bears noting that current Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said that the ad was "deeply troubling." The term-limited governor has been a stalwart in the GOP for years, making his condemnation of the ad powerful. DeWine urged the Ramaswamy campaign to take down the ad.
DeWine was not the only prominent member of the Republican Party to criticize the ad. Meghan McCain, Nancy Mace, and Nikki Haley also came out in support of Acton.
Trump's social media tirade also took aim at DeWine for calling for the ad's removal. The president called DeWine a RINO (Republican in Name Only), and said that he regretted supporting him in the past. Trump wrote about DeWine, “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. I suggested, on the other hand, that Vivek should keep it up.”
Trump lauded Acton's mother by saying, “I only wish the mothers of my opponents would be so brave as to come forward and explain that their son or daughter is a liar, and much worse... what she was really doing was saving Ohio from making a truly horrible choice,” describing Acton as “Lyin’ Amy Acton.”
Vice President JD Vance echoed his boss' sentiments in defending the ad. When speaking with reporters last Wednesday, Vance said that he was “disgusted” by Republicans because they were “whining more” about it than “what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America.”
The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., shared the attack ad on his X account.
About the Acton and Ramaswamy Contest
The race between Acton and Ramaswamy is one of the most watched contests in the country. Dr. Acton rose to political prominence when she served as the director of the Ohio Department of Health. She worked in this role during the COVID-19 pandemic, making her the face of the state's public health efforts during this pivotal time.
Acton's team came out firing at Ramaswamy after the ad aired, accusing him of exploiting her traumatic childhood in order to gain ground in the election. The 60-year-old Acton told the media, “I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is just something I’m complaining about, who today just released an ad using my birth mother, who I was removed from at the age of 12 for severe abuse and neglect, and sexual abuse."
According to court records, Acton's stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was arrested and charged with raping her in July of 1978. Arthur was married to Acton's mother at the time. The couple remained married until he passed away in 2004.
Acton's campaign responded by releasing an ad featuring her brother, Philip Stearns. In this ad, Stearns comes to the defense of his sister, explaining that “I received a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it. She continued to receive that abuse because she knew she had to protect me from that, and that if she hadn’t done that, who knows where I would have ended up?”
Dr. Acton has made it a point to criticize Ramaswamy's business acumen. She recently wrote on X that “Ohio teachers and public pensions lost nearly $2 million because they trusted Vivek Ramaswamy’s word." She warned voters that “We cannot trust him to put Ohioans first.”
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