Republican Ohio Senate candidate slams JD Vance over previous Trump comments

Republican Ohio Senate candidate Mike Gibbons slammed fellow Ohio Senate challenger J.D. Vance over his previous comments on former President Trump in a new attack ad released earlier this week.

“Who’s cheering for the wrong team? J.D. Vance. Vance called President Trump ‘an idiot’ and ‘reprehensible,’” a narrator can be heard saying in the attack ad.

“I’m a never-Trump guy. I never liked him,” Vance says as the attack ad plays a clip of a past interview he did.

“I might have to hold my nose and vote for Hillary Clinton,” Vance says in another clip of an past interview played.

“J.D. Vance is not on our team. I’m Mike Gibbons. President Trump made America safer, stronger and more prosperous than ever before. I’m Mike Gibbons, and I approve this message because President Trump fought for you. I’ll do the same,” Gibbons says in the ad.

Taylor Van Kirk, press secretary for Vance’s Senate campaign, brushed off the attack ad in a statement to The Hill.

“When everybody from the leftwing media to failed Senate candidates and their DC establishment allies are spending millions attacking JD it means only one thing: JD is winning,” she said. 

Vance has previously been hit for his anti-Trump statements. In October, two super PACs released attack ads using those same clips, some of which were taken during a 2016 Charlie Rose interview. 

The attack ads also displayed past tweets that Vance posted criticizing Trump, however Vance has previously apologized for his criticism of the former president.

He now finds himself in a position where the endorsement of the former president could make the difference in how well he fares in the GOP Ohio Senate primary. Trump has not formally endorsed a Senate challenger yet.

The Hill has reached out to a Trump spokesperson for comment.