Trump backs Ramaswamy ad featuring rival Amy Acton’s estranged mother

Trump advises the Republican gubernatorial candidate to keep running the controversial advertisement.

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks as President Donald Trump listens during an event at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, on October 3, 2026 [Joshua A. Bickel/AP]

US President Donald Trump has backed Republican Vivek Ramaswamy amid controversy over an attack advertisement by the Ohio gubernatorial candidate against his Democratic rival.

Trump said in a social media post on Thursday that Ramaswamy should keep running the advertisement that features Democratic candidate Amy Acton’s estranged mother.

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In the advertisement, Donna Arthur, Acton’s mother, disputes her daughter’s account of a childhood involving homelessness and ⁠⁠sexual abuse by her stepfather, urging Ohioans not to vote for her.

Acton says she has not seen her mother since 1978. Acton’s brother has supported her account of being sexually abused by her stepfather when she was a child. The stepfather, who died in 2004, was charged with rape.

“Anybody whose mother spoke about a daughter in that way would normally lead to the daughter being precluded from serving in office,” Trump said.

The US president also attacked Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who advised Ramaswamy to take down the advertisement, labelling him “disloyal” to the Republican party.

At a gathering with reporters at the Ohio Statehouse, 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 advertisement just run this morning on TV – I would just urge the Ramaswamy campaign to take this down.”

Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, called the advertisement ⁠⁠a “desperate, disgusting attack”, while Acton campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock called Ramaswamy’s decision to promote it “both despicable and entirely predictable”.

Vice President JD Vance, campaigning on Wednesday with Ramaswamy ⁠⁠and US Senator Jon Husted, an Ohio Republican, had brushed aside ⁠⁠the blowback.

Vance, a former senator from Ohio, expressed disgust with Republicans “whining” about the advertisement as low and in poor taste.

Ramaswamy’s campaign said it was spending $4m to promote the advertisement.

Opinion polls suggest Acton is narrowly leading Ramaswamy in a tight race to replace the term-limited DeWine.

特朗普建议这位共和党州长候选人继续投放这则备受争议的广告。

2026年10月3日，在俄亥俄州范达利亚市巴特勒高中举行的一场活动中，俄亥俄州共和党州长候选人维韦克·拉马斯瓦米发表讲话，唐纳德·特朗普总统在一旁聆听。[Joshua A. Bickel/AP]

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普公开支持共和党候选人维韦克·拉马斯瓦米，此前这位俄亥俄州州长候选人因其攻击民主党对手的广告而引发争议。

特朗普周四在社交媒体上发帖称，拉马斯瓦米应该继续投放以民主党候选人艾米·阿克顿疏远的母亲为主角的广告。

列表 1/3：美国俄亥俄州哥伦布市清真寺附近发生枪击事件，一人死亡

（共3条，此为第2条）特朗普在至关重要的中期选举前投入超过4亿美元

特朗普在俄亥俄州为共和党人集会，对中期选举前景仍不以为然（共3条，此为第3条）。

在广告中，阿克顿的母亲唐娜·阿瑟反驳了女儿关于她童年时期无家可归并遭受继父性虐待的说法，并敦促俄亥俄州人不要投票给她。

阿克顿说，她自1978年以来就没见过母亲。阿克顿的哥哥证实了她关于童年时期遭到继父性侵的说法。这位继父于2004年去世，曾被控强奸罪。

特朗普说：“如果母亲那样谈论自己的女儿，通常会导致女儿失去担任公职的资格。”

美国总统还抨击了建议拉马斯瓦米撤下广告的俄亥俄州共和党州长迈克·德瓦恩，称他“不忠于”共和党。

在俄亥俄州议会大厦与记者的一次会面中，德瓦恩回忆起他担任县检察官和州检察长期间处理强奸受害者案件的痛苦经历。

“投放这则广告是错误的，”他说。“即使到了现在——我的妻子弗兰今天早上才在电视上看到这则广告——我仍然敦促拉马斯瓦米竞选团队撤下这则广告。”

阿克顿的兄弟菲利普·斯特恩斯称这则广告是“绝望的、令人作呕的攻击”，而阿克顿竞选发言人艾迪·布洛克则称拉马斯瓦米推广这则广告的决定“既卑鄙又完全在意料之中”。

周三，副总统 JD Vance 与拉马斯瓦米和俄亥俄州共和党参议员乔恩·赫斯特一起参加竞选活动，对这种强烈反对置之不理。

俄亥俄州前参议员万斯对共和党人“抱怨”这则广告低俗无趣表示厌恶。

拉马斯瓦米的竞选团队表示，他们花费了 400 万美元来推广这则广告。

民意调查显示，在激烈的竞选中，阿克顿以微弱优势领先拉马斯瓦米，有望接替任期届满的德瓦恩。