PoliticsDonald Trump Loses It on 'Horrible Little Reporter' for Asking Why He Supported Republican Attack Ad on Childhood Rape Survivor
Donald Trump berated a NBC reporter for asking him about a recent campaign attack ad.
Oct. 23 2026, Published 6:05 p.m. ET
Donald Trump lashed out at NBC journalist Monica Alba during a heated exchange that went down on Friday, October 23, outside the White House.
Alba asked the POTUS, 80, why he defended Republican candidate for Ohio governor Vivek Ramaswamy’s recent campaign attack ad.
The Ad Featured Ohio Governor Hopeful Dr. Amy Acton's Mother
Vivek Ramaswamy recently dropped an ad where he attacked opponent Dr. Amy Acton.
The $4 million advertisement included a segment showing the mother of his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton, who accused her own daughter of lying after she was sexually abused as a young girl by her stepfather Cledith Arthur.
Alba asked Trump why he didn't denounce the controversial commercial, with the president first calling NBC "one of the worst networks to have."
Donald Trump Slammed the NBC News Reporter
NBC journalist Monica Alba was rebuked by Donald Trump during a press briefing on October 23.
"Quiet!" Trump raged at Alba, before continuing: "You’re a horrible little reporter, aren’t you?"
"If my mother said bad things about me, do you think the Democrats would put it up? I think so, but my mother thought I was wonderful," he went on.
"No, it’s a mother speaking badly against Amy Acton," Trump said. "If it were my mother speaking badly about me, you’d be making it the No. 1 story on the news."
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Dr. Amy Acton is running as the Democratic nominee for the governor of Ohio.
The politician ranted on: "If I had that ad, I should be so lucky to have an ad like that. Why wouldn’t you listen to a mother that says that? Why? Why would you, Miss NBC? Why wouldn’t you listen?"
Ramaswamy’s ad targeted Acton and featured her mother, Donna Arthur, who called her a "liar" over the childhood sexual assault allegations.
"Don’t let her become your governor. If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself," Donna said in the commercial.
Acton and Donna have been estranged for decades, as they both previously said they last saw each other in court during her stepfather’s 1978 trial.
Dr. Amy Acton Has Been Estranged From Her Mother for Decades
Dr. Amy Acton alleged her stepfather sexually abused her when she was a kid.
Cledith was arrested and charged with rape in July 1978, when Acton was 12 years old. Her stepfather pleaded not guilty to the charge at the time.
He also failed to appear before a judge and became a fugitive later that same year. Donna and Cledith stayed married until the latter's death in 2004.
Acton gave her take on the ad on October 20, telling Spectrum News: "I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is just something I’m complaining about, who today just released an ad using my birth mother, who I was removed from at the age of 12 for severe abuse and neglect, and sexual abuse."
