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President Donald Trump publicly reaffirmed his support Friday for a controversial attack advertisement targeting Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton. The ad, funded by Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign at a cost of $4 million, features Acton’s estranged mother calling her a “liar.” Trump’s backing came even after reporters informed him of the circumstances surrounding Acton’s late stepfather, whom Acton says sexually abused her as a child.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump showed no sign of backing down. “No, it’s a mother speaking badly against Amy Acton,” he said. “If it were my mother speaking badly about me, you’d be making it the No. 1 story on the news.” Trump also lashed out at an NBC News reporter who pressed him on the issue, calling her “a fresh person” and a “horrible little reporter.”
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Trump Stands Firm Despite Republican Backlash
Trump first voiced support for the ad on Thursday in a Truth Social post. He argued that Republicans were being treated unfairly by the media. “If my mother, the legendary Mary MacLeod Trump, said anything bad about me, the Fake News would play it up,” he wrote. “The Dumocrats would be totally supportive, and it would go down as the Ad of the Decade — Maybe the Century!”
Later that evening, Trump addressed the controversy at a campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa. He claimed Ramaswamy had asked him for advice amid the growing media firestorm. “I said, ‘You got to ride with it,'” Trump recounted. On Friday morning, Ramaswamy defended the ad at a campaign bus tour stop in Strongsville, Ohio. He accused the “flawed and failed media” of “lying about an ad that is about lying.” He also told supporters the ad had nothing to do with childhood abuse, adding that he would make prosecuting such crimes a priority as governor.
However, a number of Republicans broke with Trump and condemned the advertisement. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, called it “deeply, deeply troubling” on Thursday and urged Ramaswamy to pull it. Senator Jon Husted of Ohio also said he would not have run the ad. Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who has previously spoken publicly about being a sexual assault survivor, called it “the most shameful, disgusting, offensive ad this election season.” Meanwhile, Iowa Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson also condemned it. “It’s terrible,” she told ABC News. “I think about it as a mom and you think about your kids surviving childhood sexual abuse and having to relive that trauma on TV again. I think it’s absolutely terrible, and I think they should take the ad down.”
Court Records Corroborate Acton’s Account
Documents obtained by NBC News from the Mahoning County Clerk of Courts support Acton’s account of abuse. The records show that her stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was arrested and indicted by a grand jury in Ohio in 1978 on rape charges involving a child under 13 years old. The alleged abuse occurred between 1976 and 1978. While the victim’s name is redacted in the records, Acton’s biological father, Gerald Stearns, signed one of the documents.
Acton has said she has not seen or spoken to her mother, Donna Arthur, since the 1978 trial. Arthur has not responded to requests for comment. A reporter at the White House noted that Arthur stood by the stepfather during that trial. Trump dismissed the point. “Look, you don’t know that,” he said. “You don’t know anything.” Trump added that Acton’s mother appeared “very lucid” and “very smart” in the ad. Acton’s campaign, for its part, described the advertisement as an “attempt to platform” an “estranged and abusive mother.”
Vance Tells Republicans to Stop Complaining
Vice President JD Vance also defended the ad and pushed back against Republican critics. During a campaign stop in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Vance told members of his own party to “stop whining” and focus on winning elections. “Politics is a tough business,” Vance said. “My message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.”
Trump echoed a similar sentiment at the White House on Friday. “Her mother went on television and said that the daughter who’s running for governor of Ohio is a liar and a bad person, and that’s all I know,” he said. He also accused the press of trying to make “a horrible situation for a Democrat look better.” Ramaswamy’s campaign confirmed to NBC News that it plans to spend $4 million to continue airing the ad.
