Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) revealed details of a private call with Donald Trump, saying the president likened the congressman’s embattled re-election bid to his own 2016 campaign.
Miller appeared on CNN’s “The Lead With Jake Tapper” on Tuesday, where he addressed abuse allegations made by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, and whether Trump urged him to drop out of the race to protect his Ohio congressional seat.
“Look, the conversation I had with him yesterday at 9 a.m., and I’ve gotten a million phone calls about this, and this is what’s so troubling,” Miller said of the growing controversy. “Look, he called me and he said, ‘Maxie, it’s going to be a tough race.’ And he said, ‘I don’t know if you’re going to be able to, you know, pull this one out.’”
However, Miller indicated that Trump was still in his corner, adding, “And you know what, Jake? I reminded him of the same resilience that he had when people told him that he was going to struggle in 2016, and he became the 45th president of the United States.”
As Miller went on, he defended staying in the Ohio race, sharing he had “the utmost confidence that my constituents back home know me.”
“This race is a home race. This isn’t about what the national media thinks. This isn’t about what people in California or New York or Florida think about what goes on in Ohio-7,” he added. “What you’re going to see here Jake, is that I am going to be successful this November, because my constituents know who I am and they also know who my ex-father-in-law is and they also know who my ex-wife is. My numbers and fundraising are strong.”
Miller’s comments came two days after Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) called on his former son-in-law to resign from congress after his daughter, Emily, accused the congressman of abusing her and their daughter.
“As a father and husband, I can tell you the last two years have been pure hell for my wife Bridget, our daughter Emily, me, and our entire family in the aftermath of Emily’s divorce,” Bernie Moreno wrote on X Sunday. “It has been horrific to watch this play out in full public view, all while knowing an innocent 2-year-old girl is caught in the middle. Our priority has always been protecting our daughter and our granddaughter.”
He continued: “Out of concern for the safety of my family, I hoped to keep this matter private but Max Miller’s increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior has made that impossible. As he has admitted privately, Max Miller needs serious psychological help. He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter.”
Bernie Moreno then noted that if they were “any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them,” adding, “He should not serve in the House of Representatives. I believe Max Miller needs to seek professional help to end the clear pattern of abuse he has left in his wake. I believe he should not be free to continue endangering others until he does.”
Miller has denied the allegations made against him, revealing on X Tuesday that he planned to file paperwork “for an ethics investigation into myself to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and family.”
“I have absolutely nothing to hide,” he continued. “We will be providing the committee all necessary documents needed for a detail examination. The accusations continue to change, but my facts stay the same. I am looking forward to my colleagues reading everything for themselves.”
