Vance Says He Is 'Disgusted' by Republicans Criticizing Ramaswamy Ad Featuring Acton's Mother
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Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday in Cincinnati that he is “a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” referring to an ad for Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, according to The Hill and NBC News. NBC reported that the ad targeting Acton “exploded across the political landscape” on Tuesday, sparking criticism from both sides of the aisle in the final stretch of the battleground governor’s race. The New York Times reported that the vice president backed the advertisement, noting Acton’s mother has been estranged from her since Acton’s stepfather was charged with child rape.
The ad features Acton’s estranged mother calling her a “liar” and urging Ohioans not to vote for her, NBC News reported. Acton has previously recounted being sexually abused by her mother’s husband as a child, and her brother, Philip Stearns, said Tuesday that their “birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died,” NBC reported. “It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at 12 years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns said, according to NBC. Stearns said he and his sister were removed from their mother and stepfather’s custody after their stepfather was arrested, NBC reported; Acton said in a 2019 interview with the Youngstown Vindicator, cited by NBC, that she had not seen her mother since a hearing in the 1978 court case against her stepfather. Attempts to reach Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, by phone and email Tuesday were unsuccessful, NBC added.
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who is running for a full term after being appointed to fill Vance’s former seat, said he “would not have run that ad,” and Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., called it “the most shameful, disgusting, offensive ad this election season,” according to NBC News. Mace, an advocate for women and girls who have faced assault, told CNN she had been “a real big Vivek Ramaswamy fan” but that “this was just deeply offensive, and I just can’t believe this is what passes for decency in this election,” NBC reported. Conservative commentator Meghan McCain said on X that the ad was “dastardly” and “never should have been created,” and an aide for Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah — Dan Hauser — deleted his post sharing the video and apologized, saying he removed it “after researching it, and the disturbing allegations,” NBC reported.
Vance brushed off concerns about the ad, NBC reported, saying “whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern” and that he was focused on who would win the elections. “Politics is a tough business, and my message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days,” he told reporters, according to NBC. Speaking at an Ohio rally Wednesday afternoon, Vance said he “wasn’t even supposed to talk about” the controversy, “but I cannot help myself,” and said the media and Democrats in Ohio were “obsessed, because guess what, Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar,” according to NBC. He urged voters to “focus on the substance and focus on the facts” and told Republicans to “remember some of the ads that have been run against me” and other Republicans, NBC reported.
NBC also reported that Ramaswamy’s team plans a $4 million statewide advertising push around the ad, and that several members of Ramaswamy’s campaign previously worked on Vance’s political team.