Trump Defends Ramaswamy Ad, Berates NBC Reporter

Donald Trump defended a campaign advertisement featuring the estranged mother of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and berated an NBC News reporter who questioned him about allegations of childhood sexual abuse involving Acton. The exchange took place Friday as Trump spoke to reporters before leaving the White House. The advertisement, produced for Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, shows Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, criticizing her daughter and calling her a liar. Trump argued that the campaign was entitled to use the advertisement because it presented a mother’s criticism of her daughter. He also said Republican critics of the ad did not know the facts. The NBC reporter asked whether allegations that Acton was sexually abused by her stepfather as a child mattered to Trump. He questioned which network she represented, criticized NBC, told her to be quiet and called her a “horrible little reporter.” Trump said he knew nothing about Acton’s stepfather and returned to the point that her mother had publicly criticized her. Acton has said her stepfather sexually abused her when she was a child. He was charged with rape in 1978 and pleaded not guilty, according to the...