Obama Condemns Ramaswamy’s Controversial Acton Ad at Ohio Rally

WHO:

CBS News - Barack Obama, 65, campaigned with Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and former three-term Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, who is seeking to unseat Republican Senator Jon Husted.

CBS News - Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign used a video featuring Acton’s birth mother, Donna Arthur.

CBS News - President Trump and Vice President JD Vance defended the ad. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and other Republican leaders in the state called for it to be removed.

CBS News - Acton is Ohio’s COVID-19-era health director. She said she had not seen her mother since she was 12, when they were at a courthouse.

Newsweek - The article describes Acton responding to Ramaswamy over the ad at an Obama rally and says the dispute introduced an intensely personal element into Ohio’s gubernatorial race.

WHAT:

CBS News - At an Ohio rally, Obama criticized Ramaswamy and Republicans, calling the ad cruel and indecent. He said, “there is no line he will not cross, no low he will not sink to,” and questioned how standards of behavior had fallen so low that someone could run such an ad.

CBS News - The ad has Arthur call Acton “a liar” and insinuate that Acton has mental health issues. Ramaswamy defended proceeding with the ad as fair game.

CBS News - Trump called the ad “a disgrace” and said Arthur’s criticism was a “better reference” than any other. He said his own mother’s negative comments about him would be front and center.

CBS News - Acton said, “no one running for office should endure something like this.” She accused Ramaswamy of exploiting her childhood to save his “stumbling campaign” and said, “Decency still matters.”

CBS News - Obama criticized Trump’s focus on White House renovations, including a ballroom and helipad on the South Lawn, while costs remained a campaign issue. Obama joked that Trump “should be on HGTV” and compared the White House’s gold décor to “Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”

WHERE:

CBS News - Obama spoke at a rally in Ohio, then traveled to Detroit, Michigan, to campaign for Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official running against Republican former Representative Mike Rogers.

CBS News - The dispute concerns Ohio’s gubernatorial race; Trump defended the ad while voting in West Palm Beach.

WHY:

CBS News - Obama urged voters to reject Republican allies, saying they had a chance to respond after what he called two years of “chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence.”

CBS News - Acton said her childhood included abuse, neglect, and homelessness. She said her stepfather was indicted on a rape charge involving her, became a fugitive after failing to appear in court, and left with her mother.

HOW:

CBS News - Acton said she and her brother experienced abuse and neglect, including before her stepfather’s involvement. She said her stepfather’s alleged abuse occurred from December 1976 to April 1978; her mother remained married to him until his death in 2004.

CBS News - Obama also campaigned in Michigan and was scheduled to headline a Georgia rally with Senator Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms. Trump was slated to speak in Georgia Saturday.

(UPDATED October 25, 2026 01:27 UTC)

Barack Obama campaigned in Ohio with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and former Senator Sherrod Brown, while condemning a campaign ad targeting Acton through her birth mother. The video, used by Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has Donna Arthur call her daughter a liar and imply she has mental health issues. Acton said she has not seen her mother since age 12 and described a childhood marked by abuse, neglect and homelessness. She called the ad an exploitation of her childhood and said no candidate should endure such treatment. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance defended the ad, though Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and other state Republicans urged its removal. Obama called it cruel and indecent; Ramaswamy said it was fair game. Obama also criticized Trump’s White House renovations, then traveled to Detroit to campaign for Abdul El-Sayed.