PoliticsDonald Trump Lashes Out at ABC News Reporter Over Vivek Ramaswamy Ad Question: 'Not a Particularly Attractive Person'
Donald Trump lashed out at ABC News' Karen Travers for questioning his defense of Vivek Ramaswamy's political ad.
Oct. 23 2026, Published 6:15 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump insulted ABC News reporter Karen Travers' appearance after she questioned his defense of a controversial campaign ad from Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
During a White House press briefing on Thursday, October 22, Travers asked Trump why he was defending the ad despite widespread bipartisan condemnation.
Travers specifically asked Trump about Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), the Senate candidate he was headed to Sioux City, Iowa, to rally for later that day, who told ABC’s Jonathan Karl earlier on Thursday, “I think it’s absolutely terrible, and I think they should take the ad down.”
'Not a Particularly Attractive Person'
Karen Travers asked Donald Trump why he defended Vivek Ramaswamy's widely lambasted political ad.
After reiterating Hinson’s comments about the ad, Travers asked Trump, “Why are you defending it?”
“I’m defending it because I know that if that ad were about my mother, you would love it,” Trump responded. “You would love every inch of it.”
Later that evening at a campaign rally in Iowa, Trump attacked the reporter to the crowd, calling her "nasty" and declaring her "not a particularly attractive person, inside or out," without directly stating her name.
Donald Trump blasted ABC as 'fake news' while he insulted Travers' appearance.
“I had one woman from ‘ABC Fake News’ — one of the worst of all. I think ABC is the most crooked. You know, it’s funny. They spend all this money on, uh, PR, you know, to try and — ‘This is ABC News.’ They’re the worst. Total fake news — all of ’em. They’re all no good,” Trump raged at the rally.
He continued blasting her, saying, “But anyway, this woman starts screaming. I recognize her immediately — not a particularly attractive person, inside or out. In fact, I just am amazed that these people can be reporters or anchors. She’s screaming. She’s a nasty person. I’ve had a lot of problems with her. Fake [unintelligible]. She goes, “You should tell him to take it down immediately!” Why? ‘Cause it’s such a good ad?”
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Vivek Ramaswamy's ad was excoriated by critics for being exploitative and 'vile.'
The controversy centers on a $4 million statewide ad campaign Ramaswamy launched against his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton.
The commercial features Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a "liar" and questioning her character.
The ad triggered intense bipartisan backlash because Acton previously revealed that she fled her mother's custody as a child due to years of severe neglect and sexual abuse by her stepfather — abuse she states her birth mother did nothing to stop.
Donald Trump Supported Vivek Ramaswamy's Controversial Ad
Donald Trump told Vivek Ramaswamy he should thank God for the 'pay dirt' that led to the reviled ad.
Acton's campaign responded by calling the ad an exploitation of childhood trauma for political gain.
While top Republicans like Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called for the ad to be taken down, Trump repeatedly doubled down on his endorsement.
On Truth Social and during his Iowa rally, Trump labeled the ad "very powerful," writing, "Who wouldn't use such an Ad? I would; it's called 'hitting pay dirt.'"
He publicly advised Ramaswamy to leave the ad up and "say 'thank you, God, very much.'"
