President Donald Trump is strongly defending a controversial campaign ad from Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy that features his Democratic opponent's estranged mother calling her daughter a liar.
In a lengthy Truth Social post Thursday, Trump called the ad “very powerful” and criticized efforts to have it removed.
“The Press is trying to convince everyone that this Ad is bad, because it’s so good!” Trump wrote. “Who wouldn’t use such an Ad? I would, it’s called, ‘hitting pay dirt.’”
The ad, paid for by Ramaswamy’s campaign, features Democratic nominee Amy Acton’s birth mother calling her daughter a liar.
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It has drawn particular attention because Acton’s mother lost custody of her when Acton was a child amid sexual abuse allegations involving the man her mother was with at the time.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said the ad “needs to come down,” but he would not be rescinding his endorsement of Ramaswamy.
Republican Sen. John Husted of Ohio, who is locked in a tight reelection bid, criticized the decision to air the ad, telling The Associated Press he would not have done it.
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Acton herself condemned the ad, telling CNN that it has "crossed everyone's boundaries."