President Donald Trump on Friday continued to defend a highly contentious advertisement from Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The ad featured the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent Amy Acton—a woman whom Acton alleges remained supportive of the man criminally charged with sexually abusing her during childhood.
As Trump departed the White House Friday morning, he repeatedly rebuffed reporter inquiries regarding the specific allegations of Acton's childhood sexual abuse. He maintained at several junctures that the advertisement bears “nothing to do” with Acton's stepfather, who faced criminal charges and entered a plea of not guilty.
Trump defends controversial Ramaswamy ad targeting Amy Acton
According to court records and statements provided by Acton's mother during an interview, her stepfather—who passed away in 2004—departed the state alongside her mother before trial and failed to make any court appearance before a judge.
“It's a mother speaking badly against Amy Acton. And, to me, it's very easy,” Trump commented on the advertisement, which showcases Donna Arthur, Acton's mother, claiming that her daughter has fabricated details regarding her personal history and childhood difficulties.
Acton has been transparent about her experience with abuse and has candidly discussed her difficult relationship with her mother, stating that they have had no contact since she was 12 years old. Acton has asserted that her mother's second husband engaged in sexual abuse against her during the period between ages 9 and 12.
Trump calls Acton's mother a ‘smart woman’
When confronted regarding Acton's prolonged estrangement from her mother spanning multiple decades, Trump dismissed the concern and maintained that the advertisement was a fair game. “I don't care,” he said. “If it were my mother speaking badly about me, you'd be making it the number one story on the news."
Trump went on to call Acton's mother a “smart woman”, stressing that the advertisement constituted permissible content. “This has nothing to do with a stepfather or anything else. This has to do with the fact that a woman got out, the mother of a person running for governor of one of the greatest states, where I set records and said that she's a liar."
Trump gives advice to Vivek Ramaswamy
On Thursday afternoon, Trump also defended the advertisement, posting on social media that the ad was “powerful” and stating that he would personally consider running such an advertisement.
“I got a call from Vivek. He said, ‘What would you recommend? Because I’m getting killed in the press.’ Why? He said, ‘Because they think I should immediately take the ad off.’ They did an ad of the mother saying the daughter is incompetent, a liar, a disgusting, unreliable person. My mom would not say that about me, even if she believed it,” the POTUS said.
“The mother said horrible things about your opponent. Why can’t I have that happen to me? That’s a good thing, but I said, ‘You got to ride with it,’” Trump said.
“So I told him, leave it up, and look upstairs and say thank you God, very much. I appreciate it,” Trump said moments later. “They wanted to take down an ad. I only wish I could have had an ad like that against somebody. But as it turned out, we didn’t need it.”
Vivek Ramaswamy under fire over Amy Acton ad
Notwithstanding Trump's remarks, both Democratic and Republican parties have issued condemnations regarding Ramaswamy's advertisement. Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine issued a formal demand for the removal of the advertisement earlier this week. He called the ad “deeply, deeply troubling.”
“It's wrong to run this ad,” he stated, adding that “I would urge Ramaswamy's campaign to take this down.”
Iowa Republican Senate candidate Representative Ashley Hinson similarly denounced the advertisement and stated to ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl that “they should take the ad down.”