Trump backs Ramaswamy on ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The backlash over an Ohio campaign advertisement attacking Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for governor, spread beyond the state's borders Thursday, causing fresh headaches for Republicans with less than two weeks until the midterm elections.
The latest episode began when Gov. Mike DeWine criticized Vivek Ramaswamy, a fellow Republican that he endorsed as his successor, for running an ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother criticizing her. Acton’s mother lost custody of her children decades ago after her husband was indicted for raping Acton as a child.
But President Donald Trump took the opposite approach hours later, posting on social media that Ramaswamy’s ad was “hitting pay dirt” and questioning DeWine's loyalty to the party.
Trump's stance only hardened throughout the day. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, “Amy Acton’s mother said horrible things about Amy Acton" and “she's fair game.”
And at a campaign rally in Iowa, Trump regaled the crowd with a story about how Ramaswamy called him to ask for advice.
“You’ve got to ride with it,” Trump recalled telling Ramaswamy, a biotech billionaire and former presidential candidate. Trump expressed jealousy that he didn't have such a strong ad to run during his own campaigns.
“I told him to leave it up and look upstairs and say: ‘Thank you, God, very much. I appreciate it,’” Trump added. “I only wish I could have had an ad like that against somebody.”
Trump’s aggressive defense of Ramaswamy practically guarantees that more of his party’s candidates will face questions about the issue at a moment when they already risk being dragged down by the president’s low popularity.
Rep. Ashley Hinson, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Iowa, was asked about it before appearing with Trump at the rally.
She told ABC News the ad is “absolutely terrible" and “I think they should take the ad down."
Ramaswamy's campaign has said it plans to spend $4 million to show the ad online and on television.
The controversy has became the latest test of the bounds of acceptable political discourse.
In western Michigan, former Republican Rep. Fred Upton said the ad had spread throughout his community as people heard about it on the radio and television or were asked about it by others.
“They asked me about it at the bank today,” Upton said, adding that the ad “speaks horribly of the gutter politics that some rely on.”
An influential Ohio Republican, former Rep. Jim Renacci, posted a lengthy essay on social media overnight suggesting that “the floor may have just fallen out from under the Republican campaign for Ohio Governor” and urging everyone in the party to distance themselves from it.
Ohio U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, who is being challenged by former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, said he would not have run the ad. So did Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who is running for state auditor.
At a gathering with reporters at the Ohio Statehouse on Thursday, 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 governor stopped short of pulling his backing for Ramaswamy. DeWine recalled that a previous line of attack by the Acton campaign had mentioned Ramaswamy's mother, and the governor said that was also wrong because “family members have always historically been off limits." However, DeWine noted that the topic was never used in a multimillion-dollar ad campaign.
Acton's criticism 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.”
“Governor DeWine is correct that the first and only candidate to attack the mother of her opponent in this race was Amy Acton,” Ramaswamy spokesperson Connie Luck said in a statement, adding, "We refuse to accept the media's double standards.”
The Ramaswamy campaign 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.
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.
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 with Republicans “whining” about the ad while he visited the state on Wednesday.
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.
While Republicans are at odds over the ad, Democrats have rallied to support Acton.
“Child abuse and sexual assault should never be weaponized to score partisan points," Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Izzi Levy said. "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.
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Associated Press reporters Joey Cappelletti contributed from Washington and Thomas Beaumont contributed from Sioux City, Iowa.
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