WATCH: President Trump Weighs in On Vivek Ramaswamy’s Controversial Amy Acton Mother Ad

WATCH: Amy Acton’s Mother Urges Voters NOT To Vote for Daughter in Controversial New Ad

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Vivek Ramaswamy put up a very powerful Ad about a mother saying that her daughter, Amy Acton, who is running for Governor of Ohio, is a liar, and much worse. The Press, in a concerted and well coordinated attack, is trying to get Vivek Ramaswamy to “take down the Ad.” Frankly, anybody whose mother spoke about a daughter in that way would normally lead to the daughter being precluded from serving in Office, let alone the Office of Governor. If my mother, the legendary Mary MacLeod Trump, said anything bad about me, the Fake News would play it up. The Dumocrats would be totally supportive, and it would go down as the Ad of the Decade — Maybe the Century! It would win Awards for Excellence in Advertising. But, because Vivek, who will be a GREAT Governor, put it out, the “Artificial” News has teamed up against him in order to damage, demean, and embarrass a Republican who is leading in the Polls. Our RINO Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, who I unfortunately helped get elected years ago, when he was losing by 16 points prior to my doing a Rally for him was, as usual, disloyal to the Republican Party. He strongly suggested that Vivek should, “take down the Ad.” He probably wants a Dumocrat to win, and certainly doesn’t want someone who will do a much better job than he is capable of doing. 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! I only wish the mothers of my opponents would be so brave as to come forward and explain that their son or daughter is a liar, and much worse. That took a lot of courage to do but, essentially, what she was really doing was saving Ohio from making a truly horrible choice! The Press is trying to convince everyone that this Ad is bad, because it’s so good! Who wouldn’t use such an Ad? I would, it’s called, “hitting pay dirt.” The fact is, Lyin’ Amy Acton, who I’ve never even heard of before, has been lying about Vivek for the entire Campaign. I know the real Vivek, he is a brilliant and outstanding person who will cut Taxes, stop Crime and, MAKE OHIO GREAT AGAIN. He will be a fantastic Governor! President DONALD J. TRUMP

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IT'S OFFICIAL: President Trump is DOUBLING DOWN on the Vivek Ramaswamy-Amy Acton mother ad

"I'm defending it because I know that if that ad were about my mother, you would love it. You would love every inch of it!"

"The press has teamed up because he's a Republican and they… pic.twitter.com/RxQFwHqHHN

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 22, 2026

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IT’S OFFICIAL: President Trump is DOUBLING DOWN on the Vivek Ramaswamy-Amy Acton mother ad

“I’m defending it because I know that if that ad were about my mother, you would love it. You would love every inch of it!”

“The press has teamed up because he’s a Republican and they tried to make it like it’s a horrible thing. This is a mother saying very bad things about her daughter and I don’t know why that should be shielded.”

Trump has a point on the double standard! The same media that would call it front-page news if it were his mother is now outraged that this ad exists at all!

Spare me the freaking outrage.

Stop pearl-clutching and win.

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Vivek owns the $4 million ad in which Amy Acton's estranged mother calls her a liar… the same mother Acton says sided with the stepfather who sexually abused her at 12

Asked on camera whether the spot was his, Vivek claimed it and said the people who "know her best," from…

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 21, 2026

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Vivek owns the $4 million ad in which Amy Acton’s estranged mother calls her a liar… the same mother Acton says sided with the stepfather who sexually abused her at 12

Asked on camera whether the spot was his, Vivek claimed it and said the people who “know her best,” from her former boss to the Ohio State Medical Association, are telling voters to pick him, and her mother fits “a pattern.”

His campaign says it tested well with persuadables.

Acton says she was abused by her mother’s husband from 10 to 12, her mother “did nothing to protect me,” she and her brother were taken out of that home by the state, and she hasn’t seen the woman since.

Her brother called the ad “disgusting.”

Marist has Acton up 50 to 43, and Vance campaigns with Vivek in Cincinnati tomorrow.

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday called for Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican he endorsed to succeed him as governor, to stop airing an ad that features the estranged mother of Ramaswamy’s Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.

“The ad, on its face, is deeply, deeply troubling,” DeWine said at a news conference he called to address what has become a boiling controversy in the final days of a hostile race.

His comments drew a rebuke later Thursday from President Donald Trump, who chastised him on Truth Social and called the Ramaswamy spot a “very powerful Ad.”

DeWine, for his part, reaffirmed his support for Ramaswamy.

“Look, today is about the ad, but I’m not — no, I’m not changing my endorsement,” he said when reporters pressed him at the Ohio Statehouse. “I endorse the whole ticket, as you know. I’m a Republican. I endorse the whole ticket. On that ticket are some amazing people, almost all of whom I have worked with in the past.”

The Ramaswamy campaign ad, backed by a $4 million purchase of statewide airtime, features Donna Arthur, who calls her daughter a “liar” in the minutelong spot and urges Ohioans not to vote for her. Acton has talked about having been sexually abused by her mother’s husband as a child. Her brother, Philip Stearns, has corroborated her account, saying in a video for Acton’s campaign that their “birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died.”

Acton has said she has not seen or spoken to her mother in nearly 50 years. Arthur has not responded to requests for comment.

The ad did not refer to the abuse claims. But DeWine on Thursday talked about prosecuting sexual assault cases earlier in his career in public service and said he found the ad troubling given the family history.

“When you know the rest of the story, when you know the backstory, when you know that the husband of the mom was indicted by a grand jury after hearing testimony and that he took off along with the mother … and that two children never saw, I guess, the mother after that — when you know that, it just to me makes it more serious,” he said. “It makes it just more wrong.”

He added, “So it’s wrong to run this ad, and even at this late time — my wife, Fran, saw the ad run this morning on TV — I would just urge the Ramaswamy campaign to take this down.”

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