Donald Trump (Screenshot); Amy Acton, left (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster); Vivek Ramaswamy and Trump, right (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Critics slammed President Donald Trump after he praised Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R) for a widely reviled attack ad against his Democratic challenger, telling an Iowa rally audience he’d be grateful for a chance to run a similar ad against an opponent.
Speaking Thursday in the Hawkeye State, Trump recalled what he claimed was a conversation with Ramaswamy about the ad that has inspired bipartisan outrage.
“‘He must take that ad down immediately,’” Trump said mockingly.
“No. The mother is calling the daughter a terrible person and a liar. Everybody should be so lucky,” Trump said.
“Why would you shield somebody from that? Why would we do that? So I told him, leave it up and look upstairs and say thank you, God. But that’s the hot story today. They want him to take down an ad. I only wish I could have had an ad like that against somebody, but as it turned out, we didn’t need it. We won all seven swing states, we won the popular vote we won everything.”
The ad, which Ramaswamy eventually took responsibility for, features Democrat Amy Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, lambasting her daughter as a “liar” and insisting people shouldn’t vote for her.
The two women have not spoken since Acton was a child — when she accused her stepfather of years of sexual abuse. The now-dead stepfather was indicted and fled the state, but Arthur stood by him until the end.
Trump’s support for the ad prompted swift backlash, with veteran Democratic strategist David Axelrod framing the president’s reaction as typical.
“@realDonaldTrump‘s credo: Never, EVER admit an error or a wrong. Full speed ahead! The despicable @VivekGRamaswamy ad is a moral dumpster fire which will not only engulf his campaign but the entire @GOP, if it follows the lead a deeply unpopular president,” wrote Axelrod.
He later followed up, writing Friday morning on X: “Mahoning County Court records show that @amyactonoh’s stepfather was arrested & charged with sexually abusing Acton, then 12 years old…After pleading not guilty, he posted bond and fled, becoming a fugitive of the state until his death in 2004.
“@amyactonoh’s birth mother, now starring in the @VivekGRamaswamy ad @POTUS defends, fled the state with her husband after he was accused of sexually abusing her 12 yr old daughter, and stayed with him until he died. This is the tragedy that Vivek, and
@POTUS, have chosen to exploit in the 11th hour of a losing campaign,” he added.
Journalist Terry Moran also put the moment in the context of the fast approaching Nov. 3 midterms.
“The Republican closing argument to voters is not about fuel prices or health care or tariffs or data centers or the war Trump launched against Iran. Instead, Trump, Vance, Ramaswamy etc are forcing many loyal Republicans and many independents to decide: How low can I go?” He wrote on X.
The Republican closing argument to voters is not about fuel prices or health care or tariffs or data centers or the war Trump launched against Iran.
Instead, Trump, Vance, Ramaswamy etc are forcing many loyal Republicans and many independents to decide:
How low can I go? https://t.co/pIkVlQb6Up
— Terry Moran
(@TerryMoran) October 22, 2026
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The post Critics Recoil After Trump Praises ‘Heinous’ Vivek Ramaswamy Attack Ad: ‘What a Hill to Die on’ first appeared on Mediaite.
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