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Former President Barack Obama took aim at gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has doubled down on an advertising campaign featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Amy Acton.

President Obama poked fun at several Trump administration figures and scandals while stumping for Democratic candidates Amy Acton and Sherrod Brown during a campaign stop in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday. The former president ribbed his successor's administration on everything from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's focus on soldiers' appearance and testosterone to Trump's many Washington, D.C.-area...

A GOP campaign ad featuring the estranged mother of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton (D) received blowback this week after it was revealed Acton's mother stood by her husband after he was charged with sexually abusing Acton as a child. Court records show that the mother, Donna Arthur, has faced legal troubles of her own,...

President Donald Trump stepped up his support for a controversial ad featuring the estranged mother of Ohio’s Democratic candidate for governor, Amy Acton, despite intensifying Republican opposition to the campaign spot.

President Trump engaged in a vigorous back-and-forth Friday with NBC reporter Monica Alba after tripling down on the Ohio governor’s race ad featuring Democratic nominee Amy Acton’s estranged mother calling her a liar. Reporters asked Trump about fellow Republicans denouncing the ad that was created by Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP candidate for Ohio governor. “But...

Trump said Acton’s mother’s comments about her should “preclude” Acton from being elected.

President Donald Trump defended an ad featuring the estranged mother of the Democrat running for Ohio governor, Amy Acton, calling it “very powerful” and dismissing the backlash against it as a news media plot.

In the ad, which first circulated on social media Monday night, Democrat Amy Acton's estranged mother called her a liar.

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has denounced a controversial ad featuring the estranged mother of Dr. Amy Acton, taking sides with the Democratic candidate for governor and former member of his Cabinet over her Republican rival, Vivek Ramaswamy.

Vice President Vance 's call for fellow Republicans to "stop whining" about Vivek Ramaswamy's controversial attack ad in Ohio's race for governor showed a key part of his political mindset ahead of his expected run for president in 2028: Never back down. Why it matters: Channeling President Trump, Vance has shown contempt for what he sees as the old-guard GOP's reflex to cave under pressure from Democrats and the media. He thinks too many Republicans sacrifice allies to make controversies go away, and that giving critics a political scalp only encourages them to demand another, according to people familiar with his thinking. It's an approach with some risk — namely whether Vance, entering a critical period in his political career, has the political muscle to get away with Trump's no-apologies approach. Driving the news: Vance on Wednesday defended Ramaswamy amid bipartisan outrage over an ad featuring the estranged mother of Ramaswamy's Democratic opponent, Amy Acton . In the deeply personal ad, Acton's mother calls her daughter a liar, and says Ohioans shouldn't vote for her for governor. Not mentioned in the ad: Acton and her brother were removed from the mother's care as children after Acton accused her stepfather of sexual abuse. Her mother sided with the stepfather, leading to an estrangement that has lasted nearly 50 years. Appearing at a campaign stop for Ramaswamy in Ohio, Vance showed little concern about the criticism over the ad. Vance said he was "disgusted" by fellow Republicans criticizing it, telling them to "stop whining." Asked whether the ad was appropriate, Vance said it was "not really my concern," and that politics is tough. The other side: The backlash has included Republicans and Democrats who believe the ad crossed a moral line by exploiting Acton's traumatic childhood. "I would not have run that ad," Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, who appeared alongside Vance and Ramaswamy at a campaign rally Wednesday, told the AP . Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley called Ramaswamy "a bad guy," adding: "It's a shame he continues to get away with it." Acton told CNN that she hopes her story of recovering from abuse inspires others, and that she "was not stunned" at "the antics of an out-of-touch billionaire," referring to Ramaswamy. Behind the scenes: Vance's refusal to denounce allies dates to his 2022 Senate campaign in Ohio. During a March 2022 debate, Vance refused to condemn then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for appearing at a rally organized by white nationalist Nick Fuentes. "She is my friend, and she did nothing wrong ... I'm absolutely not gonna throw her under the bus," Vance said then. In the final days of Ohio's 2024 Senate primary, Vance aggressively defended GOP candidate Bernie Moreno amid a controversy over an adult dating website account linked to Moreno's work email. As vice president, Vance has refused to disavow his friend Tucker Carlson amid accusations of antisemitism — even as Carlson's relationship with Trump was fracturing. After racist and antisemitic messages surfaced in a leaked Young Republicans group chat, Vance declared on X that he wouldn't join the "pearl clutching." During a December 2025 speech at a Turning Point USA event, Vance rejected political "purity tests," declaring: "I didn't bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to de-platform." What they're saying: "There is nothing JD has more personal disdain for than weak Republicans who reflexively kowtow every time the Dem-media demands a scalp," a source close to Vance told Axios. "It drives him crazy to see the cucked reaction from some establishment operatives and politicians in the GOP, who he views as nothing more than useful idiots for the left." The intrigue: Some Republicans see Vance as influenced by Trump and Vance's mentor, tech billionaire Peter Thiel, who has embraced a similar no-apologies mantra. "The president's refusal to kowtow to the left is one of the things JD admires most" about Trump, the Vance source said.

Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) on Wednesday waded into an advertising controversy engulfing fellow Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial campaign, putting himself at odds with his Ohio colleague. Ramaswamy, who is challenging Democrat Amy Acton for the governor’s seat, has come under attack from some critics for airing a campaign ad this week featuring Acton’s estranged mother […]

Republicans privately say the ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother has already backfired

Vice President JD Vance has a message for Republicans complaining about Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s explosive ad targeting Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton: Stop whining and win the race. “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, ...