副总统万斯（JD Vance）周三在辛辛那提的一次集会上称赞俄亥俄州共和党州长候选人拉马斯瓦米（Vivek Ramaswamy）有“胆识”剪下一则有争议的广告，广告中他的民主党对手艾米阿克顿（Amy Acton）分居的母亲称她的女儿是“骗子”——这一举动引发了两党的反弹。
万斯说：“维韦克·拉马斯瓦米竟敢播放电视广告，直言不讳地指责艾米·阿克顿是个骗子。”。
该广告于周一晚些时候在社交媒体上传播，显示阿克顿长期分居的母亲唐娜·阿瑟说，她爱女儿，但“艾米有严重的问题”，并对她的过去和成长过程中的挣扎撒谎。该广告是在高风险的中期选举近两周之后发布的，俄亥俄州不仅是州长竞选的所在地，也是可能决定国会权力平衡的关键参议院和众议院竞选的所在地。
周三，在怀恩多特县的一次竞选活动中，阿克顿称该广告“可怕而丑陋”
“我认为这是一件可怕和可怕的事情，一件悲伤的事情，我觉得这是一件剥削的事情，”她说。“我认为这是卑鄙的，但这就像他在整个竞选活动中一样。”
拉马斯瓦米周二证实，他的竞选团队制作了广告，并表示他希望竞选围绕“实质性问题”，但阿克顿回避了问责、辩论和他声称的她自己对他的谎言。阿克顿和其他民主党人，以及一些共和党人，严厉批评了拉马斯瓦米的广告，并提出了他的对手的童年创伤。
阿克顿公开了她遭受虐待的经历，并公开谈到她与母亲的动荡关系，她说她从12岁起就没有和母亲说过话。阿克顿声称，她母亲的第二任丈夫在她9岁至12岁时猥亵过她。对她的继父提出了指控，阿克顿作证指控他。
阿克顿的竞选团队用自己的一个广告回应了这个广告，她的哥哥菲利普·斯特恩斯批评了拉马斯瓦米的广告，并指出她是虐待的受害者。
“维韦克真可耻，”斯特恩斯在广告中说，并补充道，“这是他对艾米的蔑视。是他对俄亥俄州的蔑视。他不适合领导。”
阿克顿的竞选团队周二也发表了一份来自斯特恩斯的声明，称拉马斯瓦米“已经堕落到如此卑劣的地步，以至于试图将艾米在12岁时遭受的生母丈夫的性虐待变成一个政治话题。”
ABC新闻驻白宫记者卡伦·特拉弗斯（Karen Travers）周三询问唐纳德·特朗普总统对该广告的看法。总统说他“对此一无所知”，后来又补充说，“一个母亲如此憎恨一个女儿是一种非常不寻常的情况，但我认为这与维韦克无关。”
副总统说，他“甚至不应该谈论”这个广告——他称之为“最大的争议”——但不能“控制自己”
万斯星期三说，选民应该“把注意力集中在实质问题上”，而不是争论。他转而攻击阿克顿在冠状病毒肺炎时期担任俄亥俄州卫生局长的行为。
“女士们，先生们，我要传达的信息非常简单：无论你对任何电视广告有什么看法，都要注重实质，注重事实。事实是艾米·阿克顿就是那个试图掩盖你的孩子的女人。”
万斯后来说阿克顿“永远不可能”当州长，因为她“担心是否有人说她坏话”。
万斯说：“我认为，一个更担心是否有人说他们坏话的人，这个人，这个人永远不可能在伟大的俄亥俄州州长官邸工作。”
ABC新闻联系了阿克顿的竞选团队，请他们对万斯的言论发表评论。
拉马斯瓦米周三在万斯之前发表讲话时，没有提到这个有争议的广告。在他的讲话中，拉马斯瓦米没有提到阿克顿的名字，甚至根本没有提到他的对手——这与他在旅途中经常提到她的方式形成了对比。
在该州竞选连任的参议员乔恩·胡斯德在周三的集会后告诉美联社，“我不会刊登那个广告。”
Vance praises Ramaswamy for having ＇audacity＇ to run controversial Amy Acton ad
Vice President JD Vance， during a rally in Cincinnati on Wednesday， praised Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for having the ＂audacity＂ tocut a controversial adfeaturing his Democratic opponent Amy Acton＇s estranged mother calling her daughter a ＂liar＂ -- a move that has sparked bipartisan backlash．
＂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．
The ad， which circulated on social media late Monday， shows Acton＇s long-estranged mother， Donna Arthur， saying that she loves her daughter but that ＂Amy has a serious problem＂ and has lied about her past and her struggles growing up． 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 that could determine the balance of power in Congress．
At a campaign event in Wyandot County on Wednesday， Acton called the ad ＂horrible and hideous．＂
“I think it was a horrible and hideous thing to do， a sad thing， and I feel like it was an exploitative thing to do，＂ she said． ＂I think it＇s despicable， but it＇s exactly like he has been this entire campaign．＂
Ramaswamy， on Tuesday， confirmed his campaign had made the ad and said he wanted the race to be about ＂substantive issues，＂ but that Acton had ducked accountability， debates and what he claimed were her own lies about him． Acton and other Democrats， as well as some Republicans， have excoriated Ramaswamy for the ad and for bringing up his opponent＇s childhood trauma．
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．
Acton＇s campaign responded to the ad with one of its own in which her brother， Philip Stearns， criticized Ramaswamy for the ad and noted she had been the victim of abuse．
＂Shame on Vivek，” Stearns said in the ad， adding， ＂It＇s the contempt he has for Amy． It＇s the contempt he has for Ohio． He＇s not fit to lead．＂
Acton＇s campaign released a statement on Tuesday from Stearns as well saying Ramaswamy ＂has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother＇s husband into a political talking point．＂
ABC News White House Correspondent Karen Travers asked President Donald Trump about the ad on Wednesday． The president said he knew ＂nothing about it，＂ later adding that ＂it＇s a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much， but I don＇t think that has anything to do with Vivek．＂
The vice president said he ＂wasn＇t even supposed to talk about＂ the ad -- which he called the ＂biggest controversy＂ -- but couldn＇t ＂help myself．＂
Vance said Wednesday that voters should ＂focus on the substance＂ rather than the controversy， turning to attack Acton over her role as Ohio’s health director during COVID．
＂And my message， ladies and gentlemen， is very simple： Whether --whatever you think about any of the TV advertisements， focus on the substance and focus on the facts． And the fact is that Amy Acton was the woman who tried to mask your children．＂
Vance later said Acton ＂could never＂ be governor because she is ＂worried about whether somebody says something mean about＂ her．
＂I think that a person who is more worried about whether somebody says something mean about them， that person -- that person could never serve in the governor＇s mansion of the great state of Ohio，＂ Vance said．
ABC News has reached out to Acton＇s campaign for comment on Vance＇s comments．
Speaking ahead of Vance on Wednesday， Ramaswamy made no reference to the controversial ad． During his remarks， Ramaswamy did not mention Acton＇s name or even reference his opponent at all -- a contrast from how he often mentions her on the trail．
Sen． Jon Husted， who is in a toss-up race for reelection in the state，told the Associated Pressafter Wednesday＇s rally， ＂ I would not have run that ad．＂
