President Donald Trump urged Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy to keep a disputed ad in circulation, widening a party split weeks before the state’s Nov. 3 election.
In an Oct. 22 Truth Social post, Trump called the spot “very powerful,” criticized Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s request to remove it and said he had advised Ramaswamy to continue. At a rally in Iowa, Trump said he told Ramaswamy to “ride with it,” CBS News reported.
The 60-second spot features Donna Arthur, the estranged mother of Democratic nominee Amy Acton. Arthur calls her daughter a liar and disputes Acton’s account of having lived in a tent. The ad first circulated on social media Oct. 19, FactCheck.org reported.
Acton has said she was sexually abused between ages 10 and 12 by her mother’s husband and that her mother did not protect her. Court records provided by Acton’s campaign and reviewed by FactCheck.org show her stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was charged with rape in July 1978, pleaded not guilty and was indicted that September. No trial followed. FactCheck.org said it could not confirm the case’s final disposition.
DeWine, a Republican who endorsed Ramaswamy, called the ad wrong and urged the campaign to take it down. He did not withdraw his endorsement. Vice President JD Vance defended the spot, while Sen. Jon Husted said he would not have run it, CBS News reported.
Ramaswamy’s campaign confirmed it produced the ad and said it planned a $4 million buy. The Statehouse News Bureau described the planned placement as statewide digital advertising; The Associated Press reported television and online placement. The campaign also told the Statehouse News Bureau that the ad performed well among voters it hoped to persuade.
FactCheck.org reported that AdImpact data showed $2,116 spent to air the ad on Oct. 20. That figure covers one day; the campaign’s eventual total spending is unconfirmed. Ohio’s general election is scheduled for Nov. 3.
