President Donald Trump has jumped into Ohio's bitter governor's race, defending a controversial campaign ad by Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and attacking the state's Republican governor, Mike DeWine, for condemning it.
The ad, released by Ramaswamy's campaign, features Donna Arthur, the estranged mother of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton, accusing her daughter of lying about her upbringing. Acton has been estranged from her mother for 48 years. Her childhood included abuse and neglect, and her stepfather — Arthur's husband — was charged with rape for sexually abusing Acton when she was 12.
On October 22, DeWine called on Ramaswamy to take the ad down, calling it "deeply, deeply troubling." The Ramaswamy campaign refused. Former Republican Governor John Kasich joined the criticism, telling MS NOW: "The ad should have never been put together. This ad in Ohio should be taken off the air, absolutely, and the people connected to it should apologize."
Trump, who endorsed Ramaswamy in February 2025, took the opposite side. In a Truth Social post, he called the ad "very powerful," praised Arthur for speaking out — "That took a lot of courage to do but, essentially, what she was really doing was saving Ohio from making a truly horrible choice!" — and accused the press of vilifying Ramaswamy because the ad is effective: "The Press is trying to convince everyone that this Ad is bad, because it's so good!"
Trump also turned on DeWine, accusing the governor of disloyalty to the Republican Party and claiming he had saved DeWine from a 16-point defeat in the 2018 election, which DeWine won against Democrat Rich Cordray. "He probably wants a Dumocrat to win," Trump wrote. DeWine, for his part, has said he will still support Ramaswamy and the Republican ticket despite condemning the ad.
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and longtime Trump ally, was tapped by the president to help lead the Department of Government Efficiency. The fight over the ad comes less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, with the Ohio governor's race drawing national attention as a test of how far hard-edged campaign tactics can go.