A MAGA Senate candidate has panicked after breaking ranks with party leadership over a twisted campaign ad.
Rep. Ashley Hinson, a former broadcast journalist and Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate for the Iowa Senate race, was put on the back foot when confronted with her own previous comments on the spot aired by would-be Ohio governor Vivek Ramaswamy to attack his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.
It features Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a liar. In the 60-second clip, she also warns voters that Acton has “a serious problem” and “needs help.” The pair have been estranged since 1978, when Acton was just 12 and accused her stepfather, Cledith Arthur, of sexual abuse. Donna stood by her husband, who fled the state after being indicted for rape.
Hinson condemned the ad in a chat with Jonathan Karl on Thursday’s edition of ABC News’ This Week. She called it “disgusting,” before being asked about Vice President JD Vance’s effective defense of it.
He said at a rally in Ohio that he’s “a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement” than they are about Democrats.
“Yeah, no. It’s ridiculous. It’s absolutely the wrong tone,” Hinson responded, shaking her head, when Karl asked her about Vance’s reaction to the fury.
After explaining why she thinks the ad is damaging, she added, “So, again, I think it’s wrong, and it should come down.”
But after the reaction to her comments, she suddenly changed her tone and went on the defensive.
“I never called the VP ridiculous,” she wrote on X, sharing a post from Politics & Poll Tracker that didn’t claim she called Vance anything.
Instead, it rightly pointed out that Hinson “called JD Vance’s comments ‘ridiculous’ when he defended the ad.”
Hinson continued by attempting to shield the VP. She wrote: “What’s ridiculous is the media’s characterization of his comments and of mine. Yes, I believe this ad is ridiculous and needs to come down. The VP and I disagree on one ad, but we agree on how to save our great country. I look forward to continuing to work with him and President Trump when I’m in the U.S. Senate.”
Trump, meanwhile, loves the advertisement. In fact, during a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday—when he was out stumping for Hinson—he said it was considered “the single greatest ad in history.”
In a Truth Social post, he called it “very powerful” and claimed the press is “attacking” Ramaswamy to have it taken down. His campaign has spent $4 million to air the spot.
“Who wouldn’t use such an Ad? I would, it’s called, ‘hitting pay dirt,’” Trump continued.
