U.S. President Donald Trump defended a controversial campaign ad by Vivek Ramaswamy on Thursday. The ad featured the mother of Amy Axton, his Democratic rival in the Ohio governor's race, who is considered distant by Axton.
While Trump defended this advertisement, widespread criticism from both parties had already emerged from the outside world. Critics pointed out that Acton's stepfather was accused of sexually abusing her during her childhood, and at that time, he was also Acton's mother's husband.
In this advertisement, Acton's mother, Donna Arthur, said that Acton "has lied all his life."
“Don’t vote for someone who lies,” Arthur said in the advertisement. “Don’t let her become your governor. If you think she will make your life better, then you are deceiving yourself. Things will only get worse.”
Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday, saying: "Vivek Ramaswamy launched a very powerful ad in which a mother claims that Amy Aceton, who is running for governor of Ohio, is a liar, and even worse than that."
"The media is working together in a coordinated and tacit manner to launch an attack, attempting to get Vivek Ramaswamy to 'remove this advertisement,'" Trump said. "To be honest, if any mother spoke about her daughter in such a way, it would usually be enough to disqualify that daughter from holding public office, let alone a position as governor."
This is breaking news. Please refresh to see the updates.
