WASHINGTON — President Trump and Vice President Vance on Wednesday stood by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who launched a controversial ad featuring his Democratic opponent’s estranged mother.

Ramaswamy had been under fire from fellow Republicans for the ad, which features Amy Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a “liar” and urging Ohioans not to vote for her. 

Acton said her mother’s husband sexually abused her as a child while Arthur stood by her alleged rapist.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) blasted Ramaswamy for the “disgusting” ad against Acton, who she pointed out was allegedly “raped by her stepfather.”

“The bar is low and somehow Vivek Ramaswamy managed to limbo under the lowest bar of decency in this country,” Mace told CNN.

Vance, whose home state is Ohio, defended Ramaswamy while campaigning there on Wednesday.

“Politics is a tough business, and my message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days,” Vance told reporters at an event in Cincinnati ahead of a campaign appearance for Ramaswamy.

Ramaswamy’s ad exploded across the political landscape this week, garnering attention on a national level. Acton released a statement from her brother criticizing Ramaswamy’s ad. 

Even some Republicans were critical. 

Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who is running for a full term in the Senate after he was appointed to Vance’s former seat, said he “would not have run that ad.”

Trump, however, said: “I hear the mother went very rogue on the daughter.”

“Doesn’t have a lot of respect for the daughter, and I think the mother is a witness to things also. So who knows? And you have to figure that out. It’s a very unusual situation to have a mother hate her daughter that much,” Trump told reporters on the South Lawn as he prepared to travel to South Carolina for a campaign rally.

Trump is scheduled to campaign in Ohio next week for Republicans on the ballot there. The state is a key battleground in the midterm election with competitive governor, Senate and House races. 

Vance hinted he was unhappy that fellow Republicans were critical of the advertisement. 

“Whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern,” he said. “I got to be honest that when I see Republicans, people in my party, reacting so strongly, especially elected officials — look, have the opinion you want to have on that ad. If you think it was too tough, say it was too tough. If you think it wasn’t tough enough, say that.”

“But I have to admit that 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,” he added.

Ramaswamy —  a biotech entrepreneur and former 2024 GOP presidential candidate — stood by the $4 million spot. 

“It is an ad from our campaign,” he said, explaining his campaign released it in part because of Acton’s refusal to debate him.

“I would love for this race and this election to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans, and unfortunately, Amy Acton has been hiding from those issues,” he added.

Philip Stearns, Acton’s brother, charged that Ramaswamy was trying to turn “the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point.”

“After he was arrested and Amy and I were removed from their custody, our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died,” Stearns said in a statement released by Acton’s campaign. 

“This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core — a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.”

Acton has been open about her tough childhood, making it part of her political origin story. She claimed her stepfather molested her. His purported abuse of Acton led to criminal charges being filed against him, and later she moved in with her biological father, according to her account.

“I was lucky that it got bad enough, because it got me out of there,” she recounted, noting that she spent at least one winter in a campground outside Youngstown.

But, in the ad, her estranged mother Donna accused her of lying.

“I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent—and it’s not easy for a mother to say this — but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past,” Arthur said.

The Ramaswamy-Acton race has been one of the nastiest in the nation with rampant mudslinging and stinging personal attacks from both sides.

Ramaswamy’s allies claim Acton is unstable and insinuated that she has an issue with alcohol.

And Acton has called Ramaswamy a “serial liar” and a “scam artist,” refusing to debate him while her allies have also attacked him over his business affairs. 

Polls show the gubernatorial race is essentially tied with two weeks to go until the election. The senatorial contest featuring Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is also a toss-up.

Trump carried the state by 11 points in the 2024 election.