On home turf in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance said it was “not really my concern” whether a controversial 60-second attack ad on Vivek Ramaswamy’s opponent was appropriate, and said he was focused on supporting Republican candidates in their midterm races.
“I’m a little bit disgusted when I see 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,” Vance said.
The ad in question features Amy Acton’s birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a liar and insinuating she has mental issues.
Arthur lost custody of her children when their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton.
Police and court records show Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged with the rape of his stepdaughter, then 12, in July 1978, after Acton’s biological father reported him to authorities. Arthur became a fugitive after not showing for a court appointment, and is now dead.
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