Trump on controversial Acton ad: ‘Why would you shield somebody from that?’

US President Donald Trump endorsed an attack ad by Republican Vivek Ramaswamy targeting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton in Ohio on Thursday, while the state's Republican governor, Mike DeWine, called for the ad to be withdrawn. The ad features Donna Arthur, Amy Acton's estranged mother, challenging her daughter's narrative of a childhood marked by homelessness and sexual abuse, urging Ohioans not to vote for Acton.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, encouraged Ramaswamy to continue airing the ad, though he did not explicitly mention the abuse allegations. Trump stated, "Let everyone listen to the mother of a defective, dishonest, and incapable Candidate explain how the daughter is a DISASTER who, uncontrollably, lies, cheats, and steals!" Acton disclosed that she has not seen her mother since 1978, and her brother supports her claim of childhood sexual abuse by her stepfather, who died in 2004 and was convicted of rape.

With polls indicating Acton's narrow lead over Ramaswamy, the controversy could prove detrimental to Republicans heading into the November 3 midterms. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, also a Republican, denounced the ad as "wrong" and urged Ramaswamy to remove it. Ramaswamy's campaign spokesperson, Connie Luck, acknowledged the ambiguity surrounding the mother-daughter relationship but characterized Acton as a "serial fabulist."

Philip Stearns, Amy Acton's brother, dismissed the ad as a "desperate, disgusting attack," while Acton's campaign spokesperson, Addie Bullock, deemed Ramaswamy's promotion of it "both despicable and entirely predictable." Vice President Kamala Harris, who campaigned with Ramaswamy and Ohio Republican US Senator Jon Husted on Wednesday, downplayed the backlash.

Ramaswamy's campaign disclosed a $4 million investment in promoting the ad. Political science professor David Cohen of the University of Akron dismissed the ad as "campaign malpractice," predicting that it could negatively impact Husted, who trails Democrat Sherrod Brown, a race that may determine control of the U.S. Senate. Cohen warned that the ad might prompt some Republicans to switch parties or result in a significant voter turnout decline on Election Day.