President Donald Trump on Friday defended a contested campaign advertisement from Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that features the estranged mother of his Democratic rival, Amy Acton. Acton has said the woman shown in the ad stood by a man who was later criminally charged with sexually abusing Acton as a child; the ad and Trump’s public support for it have drawn criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.
As he left the White House Friday morning, Trump repeatedly dismissed reporters’ questions about the abuse allegations and the ad, saying it has “nothing to do” with Acton’s stepfather. According to court records and an interview with Acton’s mother cited by ABC News, the stepfather was criminally charged, pleaded not guilty, and fled the state with Acton’s mother before trial; he died in 2004 and never appeared before a judge, the report said.
“It’s a mother speaking badly against Amy Acton. And, to me, it’s very easy,” Trump said when asked about the spot, which shows Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, saying her daughter has lied about her past. He later added, “I don’t care. If it were my mother speaking badly about me, you’d be making it the number one story on the news,” and called Acton’s mother “a smart woman.” Trump also said he did not “know anything about” the stepfather.
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Acton has publicly discussed her experience with abuse and her long-standing estrangement from her mother, whom she says she has not spoken to since she was 12 years old. Acton has alleged that her mother’s second husband molested her between the ages of 9 and 12; the campaign and the ad’s content are framed around those allegations, which Acton and her supporters say make the ad exploitative.
Acton criticized the advertisement at a campaign event on Wednesday, calling it “horrible and hideous,” “despicable” and “an exploitative thing to do.” Ramaswamy, who produced the ad, told supporters during a rally on Friday that the spot “had nothing to do with childhood abuse,” according to audio provided to Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS. Trump said at a separate rally that he advised Ramaswamy to “ride with it,” adding that when he first saw the ad he thought it would help Ramaswamy win.
The ad has prompted rebukes from prominent Republicans. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said on Thursday the advertisement is “deeply, deeply troubling” and that Ramaswamy’s campaign should stop airing it. Iowa Republican Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl that “they should take the ad down,” comments she made hours before appearing onstage with Trump at a campaign event in Sioux City, Iowa.
Trump also defended the spot on social media on Thursday, calling it “powerful” and saying he would run a similar ad himself. Supporters of Acton and other critics argue the commercial attempts to use a private trauma for political attack; Ramaswamy and his backers say the ad highlights questions about Acton’s credibility and family history.
Reporting for this story was contributed by ABC News’ Diana Paulsen and Sarah Beth Hensley.
