Trump urges keeping Ramaswamy’s Ohio ad on air — The Guardian
US President Donald Trump urged Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy not to pull a campaign advertisement targeting his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. Earlier, the state’s incumbent governor, Republican Mike DeWine, described the ad as deeply troubling and called on Ramaswamy’s campaign to remove it.
DeWine and Trump’s reactions
As The Guardian reports, the video features Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, with whom the candidate says she has had no contact for decades. Arthur calls her daughter a liar and says she should not lead the state.
DeWine said that candidates’ family members have historically been considered off-limits in political advertising. At the same time, he did not withdraw his endorsement of Ramaswamy, explaining that he wanted to support the entire Republican slate in the midterm elections.
Trump criticized DeWine on Truth Social, calling him disloyal to the Republican Party. The president also said he advised Ramaswamy to keep the ad on the air.
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Criticism of the advertisement
Ramaswamy’s campaign confirmed that the video was produced by the campaign and said it intended to spend $4 million to air it statewide. Campaign spokesperson Connie Luck said the campaign disagreed with what it viewed as the media’s double standards, as Democrats had also used Republican family members in their advertising.
Acton previously said that she had not seen her mother for many years. According to her, Arthur married a man who sexually abused Acton when she was 12 and remained with him after police intervened. The candidate’s brother, Philip Stearns, said that he and Acton were removed from their mother’s custody after their stepfather was arrested.
Ohio Republican Senator Jon Husted said he would not run such an advertisement. Democrat Sherrod Brown called the video disgusting and urged all candidates to condemn it. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose also said that he would not use a similar video himself.
