President Donald Trump strongly defended a controversial $4 million attack ad by Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy featuring the estranged mother of Democratic candidate Amy Acton. The ad drew widespread condemnation from Democrats and prominent Republicans, who cited Acton's childhood sexual abuse by her stepfather following his 1978 rape indictment. Trump and Vice President JD Vance urged Republicans to support the ad, even as polls showed Acton leading Ramaswamy in a tight contest.
Donald Trump's support for the ad
- ▪President Donald Trump stated in an October 22, 2026 campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa, that Vivek Ramaswamy asked for advice regarding media criticism of his $4 million attack ad and Trump told him to 'ride with it.'
- ▪President Donald Trump defended Vivek Ramaswamy's attack ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother on October 23, 2026 outside the White House, asserting that Donna Arthur's negative claims about her daughter are relevant to voters
Ramaswamy's attack ad against Amy Acton
- ▪Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy launched a $4 million attack ad campaign featuring Donna Arthur, the estranged mother of Democratic opponent Amy Acton
- ▪Vivek Ramaswamy defended his attack ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother on October 23, 2026 in Strongsville, Ohio, stating the ad focuses on Amy Acton's record of lying rather than childhood abuse
- ▪In Vivek Ramaswamy's $4 million attack ad, Donna Arthur accuses her daughter, Democratic candidate Amy Acton, of being a serial liar and questions her fitness to serve as governor of Ohio
Republican criticism of the attack ad
- ▪Iowa Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson and South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace publicly condemned Vivek Ramaswamy's ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother, with Hinson calling for the ad to be taken off the air
- ▪Ohio Governor Mike DeWine condemned Vivek Ramaswamy's attack ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother on October 22, 2026 as deeply troubling and urged him to take it down, while maintaining his endorsement of the Republican ticket
- ▪Conservative commentator Scott Jennings and Ohio Senator Jon Husted criticized Vivek Ramaswamy's ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother, warning that exploiting Amy Acton's childhood trauma could backfire on the Republican Party in Ohio
Amy Acton's childhood abuse and family history
- ▪Mahoning County Clerk of Courts records show Cledith Arthur, Amy Acton's stepfather, was indicted by an Ohio grand jury in 1978 for rape involving a child under 13 years old
- ▪Donna Arthur defended her husband Cledith Arthur following his 1978 rape indictment and fled Ohio with him without retaining contact with her children
- ▪Amy Acton and her brother were removed from their mother's custody after stepfather Cledith Arthur was indicted for rape in 1978, and Acton has not spoken to her mother since
- ▪Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton stated that she survived sexual abuse by her stepfather Cledith Arthur between the ages of 9 and 12
Amy Acton's tenure as health director
- ▪An Ohio appeals court ruled that the Ohio Department of Health violated state public-records law during Amy Acton's tenure by refusing to release facility-level COVID-19 nursing home death data
- ▪Amy Acton served as director of the Ohio Department of Health during the early months of COVID-19, signing statewide orders closing schools, businesses, and nursing home visitations
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