Trump defends controversial Ramaswamy ad as top Republicans call for taking it down

President Donald Trump on Thursday defended a controversial ad from Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy featuring his Democratic opponent Amy Acton's estranged mother calling her daughter a "liar," with the president on social media calling it "powerful" and saying that he himself would run such an ad.

"Who wouldn't use such an Ad? I would, it's called, 'hitting pay dirt,'" Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday afternoon.

Trump also said that Ramaswamy should keep the ad up -- despite several Republicans' calls to take it down.

The president attacked those Republicans -- including GOP Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who on Thursday told reporters in Columbus, Ohio, that the ad is "deeply, deeply troubling" and that the Ramaswamy campaign "needs to take it down," according to audio provided by Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS.

Trump called DeWine "disloyal to the Republican Party."

"He strongly suggested that Vivek should, 'take down the Ad.' He probably wants a Dumocrat to win, and certainly doesn’t want someone who will do a much better job than he is capable of doing," Trump wrote on social media.

DeWine, earlier Thursday, had said it's "wrong to run this ad," adding that even though the midterms are fast approaching, he "would urge Ramaswamy's campaign to take this down."

Iowa Republican Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson also condemned the ad, telling ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl in an exclusive interview for "This Week" that Ramaswamy should take down the ad. Hinson is one of the most high-profile Republican women running for office this year in a key battleground state that could determine control of the upper chamber.

"I think about it as a mom, and you think about childhood having to relive that trauma. I think it's absolutely terrible, and I think they should take the ad down,” Hinson told Karl in Iowa.

The ad, which circulated on social media late Monday, shows Acton's long-estranged mother, Donna Arthur, saying that her daughter has lied about her past and her struggles growing up.

Acton has been public about her experience with abuse and openly spoken about her tumultuous relationship with her mother, whom she says she has not spoken to since she was 12 years old. Acton alleged her mother's second husband molested her between the ages of 9 and 12. Charges were filed against her stepfather, and Acton testified against him. He pleaded not guilty, but fled the state before trial and never appeared before a judge. He died in 2004. 

In his post, Trump called Acton's mother "brave" for speaking out against her daughter.

Ramaswamy, on Tuesday, confirmed his campaign had made the ad, which has drawn bipartisan backlash for bringing up his opponent's childhood trauma.

Acton has criticized the ad, calling it "horrible and hideous" during a campaign event on Wednesday, adding that the ad is "despicable" and "an exploitative thing to do."

DeWine invoked his own past as a prosecutor of several rape cases, saying "I think we all have an obligation to speak out for the victims."

"It's one of the reasons I'm doing this today. We need to speak out. We need to send the message to children that we are here to protect them and that there are people who will in fact protect them, and we just have to make sure we always try to do that," DeWine said.

The ad came nearly two weeks out from the high-stakes midterm elections where Ohio is home to not only a gubernatorial race, but also key Senate and House races.

DeWine had endorsed Ramaswamy for governor -- and indicated he would still back Ramaswamy and the whole Republican ticket in the state, according to WEWS.

"Today is about the ad. But ... I'm not changing my endorsement," DeWine responded to a question about his support for Ramaswamy.

DeWine joins several other Republicans in the state who have recently spoken out against the controversial ad.

Former Ohio Rep. Jim Renacci -- who also ran for Senate in 2018 and governor in 2022 -- on Thursday called on Ramaswamy to "pivot quickly" away from the attack ad.

Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, who is running for reelection for the seat, said on Wednesday, "I would not have run that ad."

Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose told ABC Affiliate WSYX earlier this week that his office is reviewing complaints about the Ramaswamy ad to see if it violated any state laws after he said he has received "complaints from various people." He later added, "I will say that, you know, candidates will answer for their own ads, that, you know, I probably wouldn't run an ad like that, but every candidate gets to make their own decision."

Vice President JD Vance defended Ramaswamy's use of the ad during a campaign event in Ohio on Wednesday.

"Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar," Vance said.

Vance also told reporters on Wednesday that he was "a little bit disgusted" by seeing "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."

Hinson called those comments from Vance "ridiculous."

"It's absolutely the wrong tone,” she told Karl. "It sends absolutely the wrong message."

DeWine, who was Acton's boss when she was head of the Ohio Department of Health, said he knew her to be truthful.

"My experience with her and working closely with her every single day was she certainly told the truth," he said.

ABC News' Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.