President Donald Trump personally phoned Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) Monday night to deliver a sobering message as the Ohio Republican faces calls from his own party to resign amid allegations of abuse, three insiders told Axios.
Miller has been accused of having physically abused his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH). Recently obtained court records detail a series of disturbing allegations, including that he held a gun to his ex-wife’s head, beat her, and broke their 2-year-old daughter’s collarbone – allegations he vehemently denied Sunday in an emotional video.
“Things aren’t looking good,” Trump told Miller over the phone Monday night, three insiders familiar with the call told Axios.
“[Trump] repeatedly said his reelection would be tough, the three sources said,” Axios’ report reads. “The Monday night private conversation was different in tone than Trump's public comments about Miller. The president has refrained from criticizing Miller or from calling on him to drop out of his race.”
Miller’s re-election prospects took a nosedive following his recent denial of the allegations, with the odds of Miller winning his election falling from 47% to 34% on the online prediction market Polymarket on Sunday.
Sen. Moreno, the father of Miller’s ex-wife, publicly called for Miller to step down on Sunday, calling his former son-in-law “increasingly erratic and dangerous,” and a “danger” to his daughter. Multiple GOP senators appeared to support Moreno’s calls for Miller to resign.
Miller faced scrutiny for his denial of the allegations. In one instance, Miller refuted an allegation that he had “thrown” his ex-wife “against the wall” with a rhetorical question: “If I had assaulted her, would she have offered to cook me dinner six days later?”
The deadline to replace Miller on the ballot is end-of-day Tuesday. Should Miller suspend his campaign by then, a special GOP primary election would be held, per Ohio state law.