Former President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated his support for a controversial advertisement from Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, which features Acton's mother, Donna Arthur. Arthur makes critical statements about her daughter in the ad.
Trump, speaking to reporters as he departed the White House, dismissed questions about Acton's allegations of childhood sexual abuse. He stated that the ad was not connected to Acton's stepfather, who faced criminal charges for sexual abuse and pleaded not guilty. Acton has said that her mother's second husband, who died in 2004, fled the state with her mother before trial and never appeared in court. Acton has spoken publicly about her experiences with abuse and her estranged relationship with her mother, whom she has not spoken to since she was 12 years old.
When pressed on Acton's decades-long estrangement from her mother, Trump stated, "I don't care." He asserted that if his own mother had spoken negatively about him, the media would have made it a leading story.
Trump referred to Acton's mother as a "smart woman" and claimed ignorance regarding the stepfather. "This has nothing to do with a stepfather or anything else," Trump said. "This has to do with the fact that a woman got out, the mother of a person running for governor of one of the greatest states, where I set records and said that she's a liar."
Earlier on Thursday, Trump had endorsed the ad on social media, calling it "powerful" and suggesting he would run a similar ad himself. During a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday night, Trump advised Ramaswamy to "ride with it," recalling his initial reaction to the ad as "Wow, that means Vivek easily will win the race."
Several prominent Republicans have condemned the ad. Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine called it "deeply, deeply troubling" and urged Ramaswamy's campaign to stop airing it. Iowa Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson also told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl that "they should take the ad down."
Acton herself has called the ad "horrible and hideous," "despicable," and "an exploitative thing to do." Ramaswamy, speaking at a rally on Friday, stated that the ad "had nothing to do with childhood abuse."