Ramaswamy's campaign uses his rival's mother against it... and Trump supports it

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The battle to win the position of governor of Ohio moved to the childhood of Democratic candidate Amy Acton, after the campaign of her Republican rival, Vivek Ramaswamy, used her mother, with whom she broke off relations decades ago, to attack her in an election advertisement.

Despite the criticism the ad raised that crossed the partisan divide, US President Donald Trump and his vice president, J.D. Vance, defended it, turning the controversy into a confrontation within the Republican camp itself, according to the Axios website.

The sensitivity of the advertisement is due to the background of the relationship between Acton and her mother. The candidate previously confirmed that she was subjected to sexual assaults at the hands of her stepfather during her childhood, but her mother did not intervene to protect her and she remained married to him. The mother appeared later, after that estrangement, accusing her daughter of lying and calling on voters not to vote for her.

As criticism mounted, Trump announced on Thursday his support for Ramaswamy, describing the announcement as "very good" and accusing the media of launching a coordinated attack to weaken the Republican candidate's chances.

He also urged him to continue his campaign, echoing the mother's accusations against her daughter. Then he told reporters that the truth of half of what the mother mentioned was sufficient, in his opinion, to disqualify Acton from running for state governor.

However, the US President’s position did not resolve the dispute within his party. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called for the ad to be withdrawn, according to the Wall Street Journal.

While Trump accused his Republican critics of serving the Democrats.

Vance had preceded Trump in defending Ramaswamy, calling on critical Republicans to “stop complaining,” and considering that the appropriateness of the ad was not his concern, according to “Axios.”

But objections also included Republican Senator Jon Husted, who said he would not have used the ad, and Nikki Haley, who called Ramaswamy a "bad person."

Thus, the debate extended to the limits of electorally acceptable attack; While supporters of the announcement defend it as part of a tough competition, its critics see it as exploiting Acton's childhood suffering to undermine her politically.

As for Acton, she responded to the announcement with a statement issued on Tuesday, in which she said that she and her brother suffered during their childhood “from abuse, hunger, and neglect.”

The 60-year-old candidate explained that she was subjected to sexual assaults between the ages of ten and twelve at the hands of her stepfather, without her mother intervening to protect her. She says that she has not seen her mother since 1978, while her stepfather fled before being tried on sexual assault charges, and later died.

This personal confrontation comes in a very close race, between Ramaswamy, a billionaire working in the biotechnology sector and a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 2024, and Acton, a doctor and former director of the Ohio Department of Health.

As the contest heated up, the ad put the Republican campaign at odds over the political and moral cost of personal attacks; It received the support of the president and his vice president, but it prompted figures from their party to object to using a family tragedy to win over voters.