President Donald Trump on Thursday told Vivek Ramaswamy to keep running one of the most controversial ads of the 2026 midterms, a spot featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent in the Ohio governor’s race, Amy Acton. In the same breath, Trump tore into Ohio’s own Republican governor, Mike DeWine, for asking that the ad come down.
What the ad shows
The video, which began circulating on social media earlier this week and which Ramaswamy’s campaign later confirmed to Ohio media outlets is its own work, shows Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter “a liar” and saying she should not be put in charge of the state, according to The Guardian. The campaign said later in the week it would spend $4 million to air the ad across Ohio.
The backstory is what has made the spot so explosive. Acton has said she has not seen her mother in decades. According to the Associated Press, Arthur lost custody of Acton and her brother after her husband, the children’s stepfather, was indicted for raping Acton. The Guardian reports Acton was 12 at the time and that her mother stayed with the man even after police stepped in.
DeWine: “It’s wrong to run this ad”
Earlier Thursday, DeWine, who is leaving office and whose administration Acton once served as a health official, called the ad “deeply, deeply troubling” while speaking to reporters at the Ohio Statehouse. “It’s wrong to run this ad,” he said, as reported by the AP. “I would just urge the Ramaswamy campaign to take this down.”
DeWine noted that “family members have always historically been off limits.” Even so, he declined to withdraw his endorsement of Ramaswamy, saying he wants to support the full Republican ticket.
Trump: “hitting pay dirt”
Hours later, Trump fired back in a lengthy Truth Social post. He called the spot “a very powerful Ad,” said the press was mounting “a concerted and well coordinated attack” to get Ramaswamy to pull it, and described using it as “hitting pay dirt.”
He labeled DeWine a “RINO” who was “as usual, disloyal to the Republican Party,” adding: “He probably wants a Dumocrat to win.” Then came the line that has lit up social media: “I suggested, on the other hand, that Vivek should keep it up, and let everyone listen to the mother of a defective, dishonest, and incapable Candidate, explain how the daughter is a DISASTER who, uncontrollably, lies, cheats, and steals!”
Trump also argued that a mother speaking about her daughter that way “would normally lead to the daughter being precluded from serving in Office,” and praised Ramaswamy as someone who will “cut Taxes, stop Crime and, MAKE OHIO GREAT AGAIN.”
Republicans split
The ad has drawn criticism from both parties. Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, a Republican in a race that could help decide control of the Senate, told the AP: “I would not have run that ad.” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, also a Republican, told ABC 6: “I probably wouldn’t run an ad like that, but every candidate gets to make their own decision.” Husted’s Democratic opponent, former Sen. Sherrod Brown, has called the video “disgusting.”
Vice President JD Vance, speaking in Cincinnati on Wednesday, brushed off the criticism. “Whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern,” he said. “I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America. Politics is a tough business.”
Ramaswamy campaign spokesperson Connie Luck defended the spot: “We refuse to accept the media’s double standards when Democrats have regularly used family members of President Trump, RFK Jr, and other Republicans in ads. Voters shouldn’t buy it.” DeWine also noted that Acton had earlier this year mentioned Ramaswamy’s mother’s involvement in an alleged “pump and dump” scheme, though with less prominence.
Acton’s family responds
In a statement released by Acton’s campaign, her brother, Philip Stearns, called the ad “a despicable low” for Ramaswamy and noted that he and his sister were removed from their mother’s custody after their stepfather was arrested.
What’s at stake
Acton has led Ramaswamy in recent polls of the race, according to The Guardian. With the November 3 midterms now less than two weeks away, Trump’s full-throated defense guarantees the ad, and the fight inside the Ohio GOP over it, will stay front and center through Election Day.