President Trump campaigns in Iowa ahead of the midterms and defends an attack ad featuring Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. CBS News reports Trump doubles down on the ad after earlier comments, saying he told Ramaswamy to “leave it up,” and he frames the move as a response to backlash.
Across outlets, Trump’s defence centres on support for the advertisement and criticism of opponents and the media. The Times of India says Trump posts that he urged Ramaswamy to “keep it up,” focusing on hostile language toward rival Amy Acton and not directly engaging the underlying allegations referenced by the controversy. NDTV reports Trump also calls the ad “very powerful” and argues there is a coordinated media effort aimed at stopping Ramaswamy from running it.
While the outlets align on Trump publicly backing the ad and attacking the campaign environment around it, they differ in what details they foreground—Trump’s direct encouragement versus his critique of media coordination and the specific emphasis on Acton in social posts.
