Key takeaways:
- Vance told Republicans to “stop whining” about the ad and said its appropriateness was not his concern.
- The ad features Acton’s estranged mother calling her a liar but does not mention that her husband was charged with raping Acton as a child.
- Ramaswamy’s team plans to spend $4 million airing the ad statewide.
Vice President JD Vance told fellow Republicans to “stop whining” about an attack ad for Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that features his Democratic opponent’s estranged mother calling her a liar. The ad has drawn criticism from Republicans as well as Democrats because it omits the history behind Amy Acton’s estrangement from her mother.
“Politics is a tough business, and my message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days,” Vance told reporters Wednesday in Cincinnati.
In the ad, Donna Arthur says her daughter “lied her entire life” and urges Ohioans not to vote for her. It does not mention that Arthur’s husband was charged with raping Acton when she was a child. Acton has said she has not seen her mother since a hearing in the 1978 case against her stepfather.
Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, said he and his sister were removed from their mother and stepfather’s custody after their stepfather was arrested. “Our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died,” Stearns said Tuesday, according to NBC News.
“It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at 12 years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns said.
The BBC reported that the stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was never prosecuted on the rape charge and died in 2004. It also reported that Acton’s campaign released a video Tuesday in which Stearns describes their childhood abuse, saying “Amy always got the worst of it.” He adds: “Shame on Vivek. It’s the contempt he has for Amy. It’s the contempt he has for Ohio.”
Ramaswamy confirmed Tuesday that the attack ad came from his campaign, according to the BBC. His team plans to spend $4 million airing it statewide, NBC News reported.
Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who is running for a full term in Vance’s former Senate seat, said, “I would not have run that ad.” Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, called it “the most shameful, disgusting, offensive ad this election season.” The BBC reported that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley also criticized Ramaswamy, saying, “he’s a bad guy. It’s a shame he continues to get away with it.”
Asked whether the ad was appropriate, Vance said, “It’s not really my concern.” He said he was focused on who would govern and was “a little bit disgusted” by Republicans who complained more about the ad than about Democrats. At a rally later Wednesday, he defended Ramaswamy’s decision to run a commercial calling Acton a liar, while telling supporters to focus on “the substance” and “the facts.”
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he knew nothing about the ad, the BBC reported. “I heard the mother went very rogue on the daughter,” he said, adding that he did not think the situation had “anything to do with Vivek.”
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