Trump backs ad using Democratic rival's mother despite backlash

A Republican candidate for Ohio governor has run into fierce backlash after airing a campaign ad featuring the mother of his Democratic rival. The ad was produced by the campaign of Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate backed by Donald Trump. Ramaswamy previously co-led the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk in the early days of Trump's second administration.

The one-minute ad features the mother of Democratic candidate Amy Acton attacking her own daughter. "As a mother, it's not easy to say this, but my daughter is a liar," the mother says in the spot.

The backlash intensified when it emerged that Acton had suffered extensive abuse, including sexual abuse, at the hands of her stepfather during childhood and was removed from her mother's custody at age 12 as a result. It also came to light that when the stepfather was indicted, her mother fled with him and continued to live with him until his death in 2004. Critics said the Ramaswamy campaign had exploited a mother who had abandoned a young daughter in need of protection, leaving her with unimaginable trauma.

Because Acton had publicly disclosed this family history years earlier, condemnation poured in accusing the Ramaswamy campaign of running the dirtiest race imaginable — one willing to shield a child abuser for political gain. Acton's younger brother Philip hit back, saying his sister had endured horrific abuse as a child to protect him, and called the ad "a desperate and disgusting attack that shows exactly who Ramaswamy is. Shame on him."

Acton herself called the ad "sad and vile," accusing the Ramaswamy campaign of exploiting her ailing mother.

As criticism of the ad mounted — with some calling it "political suicide" — fellow Republicans drew a line, worried the fallout could hurt other races. State Sen. Jon Husted, the Republican candidate in Ohio's US Senate race who trails his Democratic opponent by a narrow margin, said he would not have run the ad. Outgoing Republican Gov. Mike DeWine urged the campaign on Thursday to take it down.

Trump, who had initially kept his distance from the controversy, then waded in fully. In a lengthy post on Truth Social, he launched a sharp attack on Gov. DeWine, writing that "frankly, a daughter whose mother speaks about her that way usually can't hold public office, let alone become governor."

He went on to say he had told the campaign to keep running the ad "so everyone can hear a mother of a flawed, dishonest, and incompetent candidate tell the world what a disaster her daughter is," adding, "Who wouldn't use an ad like that? I would. I hope the mothers of my opponents will also have the courage to come forward."

Having initially held back, Trump moved to rally behind Ramaswamy and stamp out dissent within the party. Vice President JD Vance, a former US senator from Ohio, also took aim at Republicans who had already voiced opposition to the ad, telling them to "stop whining."

Ramaswamy has signaled he will pour an additional $4 million into airing the ad, but the move appears unlikely to reverse his fortunes. On Thursday (local time), the prominent US election forecaster Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted its rating for the Ohio governor's race from "toss-up" to "leans Democratic."

Ohio has backed Trump in all three presidential elections since 2016, but public sentiment has shifted sharply amid high inflation, sluggish manufacturing recovery and controversy over data center development.