Vice President JD Vance is defending the campaign ad by Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton.

The ad features Donna Arthur, Acton’s mother, accusing the Democrat of being a “liar,” saying, “My daughter needs help,” and questioning whether she would make a good governor.

Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, later released a statement and a competing video, providing key context the Ramaswamy campaign ad conveniently left out.

Stearns said that he and Acton have been estranged from their mother for years because she stayed married to their stepfather, Cledith Arthur, who sexually abused Acton at a young age. Acton was removed from her mother’s care at the age of 12.

The ad received bipartisan condemnation, but Vance defended it during his trip to Ohio on Wednesday and told Republicans to stop “whining.

“Politics is a tough business,” he said during a press conference at the Cincinnati FBI field office. “I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans who are whining more about that advertisement than about who will win the race for Ohio governor.”

Asked specifically about the ad, Vance wouldn’t say whether it was appropriate.

“Whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern,” Vance said. “What is my concern is who’s going to govern the next generation of American government. Who is going to win the Senate race in the state of Ohio, who is going to win the governor’s race in the state of Ohio.

Ramaswamy is also doubling down on the ad despite the backlash. He confirmed his campaign produced the ad and told Acton to defend herself publicly if she believes the criticism is unfair.

“If she believes that those attacks are unfair and inaccurate, as her attacks on me definitely have been, she’d want to do the same thing as me, which is to defend it and set the record straight on a debate stage,” he said. “And I think that that is fair and voters deserve the truth.”