US President Donald Trump has backed Republican Vivek Ramaswamy amid controversy over an attack advertisement by the Ohio gubernatorial candidate against his Democratic rival. Trump said in a social media post on Thursday that Ramaswamy should keep running the advertisement that features Democratic candidate Amy Acton’s estranged mother. In the advertisement, Donna Arthur, Acton’s mother, disputes her daughter’s account of a childhood involving homelessness and sexual abuse by her stepfather, urging Ohioans not to vote for her.
Acton says she has not seen her mother since 1978. Acton’s brother has supported her account of being sexually abused by her stepfather when she was a child. The stepfather, who died in 2004, was charged with rape.
The US president also attacked Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who advised Ramaswamy to take down the advertisement, labelling him “disloyal” to the Republican party. At a gathering with reporters at the Ohio Statehouse, DeWine recalled the painful experiences of rape victims he dealt with as a county prosecutor and state attorney general. Vice President JD Vance, campaigning on Wednesday with Ramaswamy and US Senator Jon Husted, an Ohio Republican, had brushed aside the blowback.
Vance, a former senator from Ohio, expressed disgust with Republicans “whining” about the advertisement as low and in poor taste. Ramaswamy’s campaign said it was spending $4m to promote the advertisement. Opinion polls suggest Acton is narrowly leading Ramaswamy in a tight race to replace the term-limited DeWine.
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