Trump backs Ramaswamy on ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP nominee for Ohio governor, should keep running a controversial ad featuring the estranged mother of Democratic opponent Amy Acton, as debate over the ad divided Republicans and threatened to spill into other races and states.
Trump called Acton “fair game” and denounced Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who criticized the ad as “deeply, deeply troubling.” Acton previously served in DeWine’s Cabinet as state director of health. Her mother lost custody of Acton and her brother after her husband — the children’s stepfather — was indicted for raping Acton when she was 12.
“All I know is Amy Acton’s mother said horrible things about Amy Acton, calling her a liar and other things and unreliable. A lot of very bad things,” Trump told reporters before leaving Washington to campaign for Republican candidates in Iowa. “And I say that she’s fair game.”
At a gathering with reporters at the Ohio Statehouse, DeWine recalled the painful experiences of rape victims he dealt with as a county prosecutor and state attorney general.
“It’s wrong to run this ad,” he said. “And, even at this late time — my wife, Fran, saw the ad just run this morning on TV — I would just urge the Ramaswamy campaign to take this down.”
The term-limited DeWine’s remarks place him at odds with Ramaswamy, whom he has endorsed. The biotech entrepreneur and former presidential candidate has said he planned to spend $4 million to broadcast the ad online and on television.
The question of whether it should be on the air reached into other contests, far from Ohio. Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, the GOP nominee for Senate in Iowa, told a reporter before Trump’s visit to the state that the ad is “absolutely terrible.”
“I think they should take the ad down,” Hinson told ABC News.
GOP U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, in a tight race in Ohio, has said he would not have run the ad.
The governor stopped short of pulling his backing of the Republican for now. DeWine recalled a previous line of attack by the Acton campaign had mentioned Ramaswamy's mother and said that also was wrong — “family members have always historically been off limits” — though he noted it was never used in a multimillion-dollar ad campaign.
That critique from the summer cited an investigative report into Geetha Ramaswamy's role at a pharmaceutical company run by her son, whom Acton and Democrats described as “hiring his own mother to manipulate clinical trial data.” The Ramaswamy campaign called those claims “slanderous.”
It also said Ramaswamy is being held to a different standard than Acton and other Democrats who have attacked Republicans’ families, and will not be pulling the ad.
“Governor DeWine is correct that the first and only candidate to attack the mother of her opponent in this race was Amy Acton,” spokesperson Connie Luck said in a statement, adding, "We refuse to accept the media's double standards.”
Trump questioned DeWine’s loyalty to the Republican candidate.
“He strongly suggested that Vivek should, ‘take down the Ad,’” Trump wrote on social media earlier Thursday. “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.”
By chiming in, DeWine has entered the fray among Ohio Republicans over the advertisement — as both the governor's race and a race for U.S. Senate appear far tighter than expected in a state Trump won handily three times. The video features Acton’s birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her “a liar” and insinuating she has mental health issues.
Acton, Ohio’s COVID-19-era health director, has made no secret of facing homelessness and abuse as a child. Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather, Arthur's husband, was indicted on a charge of rape involving Acton. Acton's campaign on Tuesday posted a video of her brother, who supported her backstory about living in a tent and being abused.
Republican Vice President JD Vance, an Ohio native son, expressed disgust during an Ohio campaign swing Wednesday with Republicans “whining” about the ad as low and in poor taste. Husted, who was DeWine's lieutenant governor and is defending his seat from a comeback by Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown, has since said he would not have run the ad, as has Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who is running for state auditor.
Another influential Ohio Republican, former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, posted a lengthy essay on X overnight suggesting that “the floor may have just fallen out from under the Republican campaign for Ohio Governor” and urging every Republican to distance themselves from it.
Amid the turmoil, Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou posted what sounded like a warning, or a threat.
“The final days of a tough campaign are always the best time to find out who is really with you and who just posts and pretends,” he wrote. “Yes — we are keeping score.” The quote was followed by a winking-eye emoji.
The ad is also dividing Republicans nationally, while Democrats have rallied around Acton.
Nikki Haley, who sparred with Ramaswamy during the 2024 Republican presidential primary over the personal nature of his attacks, called him “a bad guy” in a social media post Tuesday. “It’s a shame he continues to get away with it,” she wrote.
At the same time, Media Matters for America, a left-leaning media watchdog group, has reported that many within the national conservative media are promoting and praising the ad. Ramaswamy's campaign manager, Jonathan Ewing, characterized it as “a campaign-ending moment for Amy Acton.”
Wayne Allyn Root of Gateway Pundit called it “absolutely hilarious” and Daily Wire host Michael Knowles described it as “brilliant.”
Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Izzi Levy said: “Child abuse and sexual assault should never be weaponized to score partisan points. Governor DeWine is right — Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad is beyond troubling, and he should take it down immediately and apologize to survivors everywhere and all those hurt by this reprehensible attack.”
Illinois first lady MK Pritzker said she donated $500,000 to Acton’s campaign because of the ad.
Police and court records show Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged with the rape of Acton in July 1978, when she was 12, after her biological father lodged a formal complaint against him. The abuse allegedly happened from December 1976 to April 1978. Cledith Arthur failed to show for a court appearance and became a fugitive.
Donna Arthur remained married to him until his death in 2004.
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