Sara Haines has spoken out against Vice President JD Vance for defending a controversial campaign ad targeting Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton. On The View, Haines expressed disgust over the advertisement and Vance’s response to the backlash. Her remarks focused on the use of Acton’s personal family history in the political campaign.
Sara Haines calls out JD Vance for defending Vivek Ramaswamy’s attack ad
Sara Haines criticized Vice President JD Vance on The View for defending a campaign advertisement released by Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy against his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. The advertisement features Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, refuting her daughter’s account of their family history and urging Ohio voters not to elect her governor.
Haines condemned the commercial and questioned Vance’s decision to support it. “We’ve been begging Republicans to grow a spine and stand up when something is wrong. ‘We the People’ literally means you’re more accountable to the public than your party. When you lose the storyline on that, you’re missing the entire thing,” she said.
Haines also directly addressed Vance’s defense of the advertisement. She said, “I am so disgusted by JD Vance, I am so disgusted by this ad. I don’t know how this was put out and pretending like this is a normal thing. This was an abuse case. But you know what, it also doesn’t surprise me that this is the same administration that’s protecting the people in the Epstein files.”
She also brought up Vance’s family while condemning his position, stating, “Shame on JD Vance; he is father of four young kids.”
Acton has said she was removed from her mother’s custody at age 12 after her stepfather was accused of sexually abusing her. Her brother, Phil Stearns, has also spoken publicly about the abuse they experienced as children. Arthur challenges Acton’s account, including her description of experiencing homelessness.
Vance defended Ramaswamy during a campaign appearance in Ohio, objecting to fellow Republicans who had criticized the advertisement. He accused Democrats of “throw[ing] every dirty trick in the political book at Vivek” and defended the commercial’s portrayal of Acton.
