Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton said Saturday she hopes President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance will “look at the facts” after both men defended a controversial campaign advertisement from GOP nominee Vivek Ramaswamy that features Acton’s estranged mother. Acton made the remarks to ABC News following a campaign rally in Cleveland that included former President Barack Obama.
Bipartisan criticism has mounted over the Ramaswamy ad, which shows Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, saying Acton has lied about her past. The ad does not mention Acton’s allegations that she was sexually abused as a child; Acton has said she has not seen her mother since she was 12.
Acton has said her mother’s second husband molested her between the ages of 9 and 12. She told ABC News that charges were filed against her stepfather and that she testified; she said he pleaded not guilty, fled the state before trial and never appeared before a judge, and later died in 2004. Acton also told reporters she and her brother endured “extreme child abuse and neglect” and pointed to what she described as “facts in this case: a grand jury indictment, fugitive out against bail.”
Trump and Vance have publicly defended the ad. Trump dismissed questions about the abuse allegations, saying at times the ad had “nothing to do” with Acton’s stepfather. At a rally in Ohio earlier this week, Vance said he was “a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America.”
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio’s largest newspaper, on Sunday said it was reversing an earlier decision not to make an endorsement and declared its support for Acton. The paper’s editorial board wrote that Ramaswamy “has produced a campaign advertisement that weaponizes the sexual abuse his opponent, Amy Acton, suffered as a child” and said “a candidate who uses childhood sexual abuse as a weapon … has crossed a line that Ohioans should defend, whatever their party.”
Ramaswamy’s campaign dismissed the endorsement in a statement to ABC News and criticized the paper’s editor, with campaign spokesperson Evan Machan saying, “Anyone who thought Chris Quinn’s paper wouldn’t back the liberal in this race is fooling themselves.” Ramaswamy, speaking to reporters Friday, said the ad “had nothing to do with childhood abuse” and that “we ran an ad about lying.” A campaign spokesperson, Connie Luck, told ABC News: “Ohioans can’t afford a liberal governor who shows up for Obama but never shows up for them.”
GOP Gov. Mike DeWine called the ad “deeply, deeply troubling” and said the Ramaswamy campaign “needs to take it down,” but he did not withdraw his endorsement of Ramaswamy. Acton said she appreciated DeWine “calling out the facts of the case,” noting his background as a prosecutor and his familiarity with the situation.
Acton, who said she and Ramaswamy have never met, spoke directly to survivors of abuse at the rally, urging anyone “going through it now” to “hold on” and to tell someone they trust if they can. She told ABC News she hoped leaders on both sides of the aisle would examine the record rather than defend an ad she says exploits her trauma.
Obama criticizes Ramaswamy and Trump
At the Cleveland event, Obama delivered a broad critique of the Trump administration and singled out Ramaswamy, calling him “thirsty” for attention. Obama said Ramaswamy’s supporters “know it’s all about what’s in it for him” and accused the GOP candidate of being willing to “do anything” for attention, adding that “in recent days, we’ve seen there is no line he will not cross, no low he will not sink to.” Obama urged a return to what he described as a “moral component” in public life and said “basic decency” is missing from current public discourse.
ABC News reported that Acton campaigned Saturday alongside former Sen. Sherrod Brown and Obama as Democrats look to competitive Senate and gubernatorial contests in Ohio this election cycle.
ABC News’ Diana Paulsen and Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.
