President Donald Trump defended Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's ad featuring his political opponent's estranged mother and bashed Gov. Mike DeWine for condemning it.
Trump, who first endorsed Ramaswamy for governor in February 2025
, called Ramaswamy's ad "very powerful" and encouraged the biotech entrepreneur to keep it up. Ramaswamy is a longtime supporter of Trump, who tapped him to help lead the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency.In the ad, Donna Arthur accuses her daughter, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton, of lying about her upbringing, which included abuse and neglect. Acton has been estranged from her mother for 48 years, ever since
Arthur's husband and Acton's stepfather was charged with rape for sexually abusing 12-year-old Acton.
Trump praised Acton's mother in a post on his social media platform Truth Social: "That took a lot of courage to do but, essentially, what she was really doing was saving Ohio from making a truly horrible choice! The Press is trying to convince everyone that this Ad is bad, because it’s so good!"
On Oct. 22, DeWine called on Ramaswamy to take down the ad, calling it "deeply, deeply troubling." The Ramaswamy campaign has refused to do so.
Trump complained about DeWine, writing that Ohio's governor was disloyal to the Republican Party − even though DeWine said he would still support Ramaswamy and the GOP ticket. Trump also claimed he saved DeWine from a 16-point defeat in 2018, when DeWine won over Democratic candidate Rich Cordray.
"He probably wants a Dumocrat to win, and certainly doesn’t want someone who will do a much better job than he is capable of doing," Trump wrote about DeWine.
Former GOP Gov. John Kasich joined DeWine in repudiating the ad. “The ad should have never been put together,” Kasich told MS NOW. “This ad in Ohio should be taken off the air, absolutely, and the people connected to it should apologize.”
Even so, Trump said the press was vilifying Ramaswamy for no reason.
"The fact is, Lyin’ Amy Acton, who I’ve never even heard of before, has been lying about Vivek for the entire Campaign. I know the real Vivek, he is a brilliant and outstanding person who will cut Taxes, stop Crime and, MAKE OHIO GREAT AGAIN," Trump wrote.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@usatodayco.com or @jbalmert on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Trump defends Ramaswamy ad, attacks DeWine over criticism
