Trump Chillicothe Rally: A Space Academy Hint for Ohio if Husted Wins, a Defense of Ramaswamy and a Push for Voter ID
In his third Ohio stop of the midterm cycle, President Donald Trump told the Shoemaker Center crowd he would consider putting the U.S. Space Academy in Ohio if Sen. Jon Husted wins, defended Vivek Ramaswamy over the ad roiling the governor's race, took credit for Haitian departures from Springfield, and campaigned for Issue 3 - six days before the November 3 election.
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - President Donald Trump used his third Ohio campaign stop of the midterm cycle on Wednesday night to dangle a federal prize in front of the state's voters. Ohio has a bid to bring the U.S. Space Academy to the state, pitched around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and NASA's Glenn Research Center near Cleveland, and Trump tied it directly to the Senate race. "I want you to know that if Jon Husted wins, I am going to consider putting the Space Academy right here in Ohio," Trump said, in remarks the Columbus Dispatch logged at 8:43 p.m. ET. "Everybody wants it." Husted, appointed to serve the remainder of Vice President JD Vance's Senate term, is locked in a tight race with former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Trump also waded into the controversy defining the governor's race, defending Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy over a campaign ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. "Vivek was treated very unfairly. He had the mother of his opponent say that her daughter was a liar," Trump said. "And the press, the fake news, criticized him." He continued: "The mother said that Amy Acton, the daughter, is a liar, that she's no good, that she lied about the opponent. How the hell is that his problem?" Ramaswamy rose to his feet, clapping, as the crowd cheered, the Dispatch reported. Polling suggests Acton might hold a slight lead, and forecasters have moved the race from a toss-up to leaning Democratic amid the backlash over the ad.
The president took credit for removing Haitian immigrants from Springfield, Ohio, by ending their temporary protected status, saying the town had "went to hell" and adding, "You know what, the Haitians have moved out." He also campaigned for Issue 3, the ballot proposal that would put Ohio's photo ID requirement for voting into the state constitution. "They don't want voter ID, why? Because they want to cheat," Trump said of Democrats.
The evening was not without interruption: at least two protesters were removed from the Shoemaker Center after yelling shortly after Trump began his address, on top of the roughly dozen demonstrators who had worked the entrance line during the afternoon. Earlier in the speech Trump praised Husted's football prowess - "since I explained to people that he was a phenomenal, not a good, a phenomenal football player, you have really taken on a new life" - in a state Trump has won three times, most recently by 11 percentage points. Six days remain before the November 3 election decides both Ohio races and control of Congress.
