Trump Tells Ramaswamy to Keep Ad Featuring Rival's Mother
The Facts
- U.S. President Trump on Thursday urged Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy to keep airing an ad featuring his opponent's estranged mother, hours after Gov. Mike DeWine said the campaign should take it down.
- Asked at the White House on Thursday why he had not mentioned that Amy Acton's mother stayed married to the man charged with raping Acton as a child, Trump said the press had "ganged up" on the mother and that he knew nothing about the case.
- At a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday, Trump said he told Ramaswamy to "ride with it" and leave the ad up, even as Rep. Ashley Hinson, the Republican Senate candidate he was there to support, urged Ramaswamy to pull the spot.
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The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Trump and Vance are right to call out the media and Democrats for their selective outrage over Ramaswamy's ad. They condemn attacks on Acton's family while having glorified violence against Trump and used dirty tricks against Vivek's own family. The coordinated push to pull the ad is just another attempt to discredit a Republican they fear could win. If Acton's own mother is willing to speak out, Ohio voters deserve to hear her.
Democratic narrative
Trump and Vance’s backing for such a callous ad only deepens the political damage.Trump-style attacks are harder for other Republicans to pull off when voters are fed up with the economy and the cost of living. Ramaswamy's desperate tactics are alienating fellow Republicans and turning voters against him as his chances of winning Ohio's governor race slip away.
Republican narrative
Trump and Vance are making a bad situation worse by defending an ad that prominent Republicans like Mike DeWine and Jon Husted have called deeply troubling. Vance didn't have to weigh in, but his intervention has turned a damaging campaign tactic into a test of loyalty to Trump. Ramaswamy should be making the case for governing Ohio, not defending a personal attack that risks costing him the race.
