President Trump privately warned embattled Ohio Republican Rep. Max Miller that his campaign faces serious trouble, even as Miller digs in and refuses to exit the race despite escalating domestic abuse allegations from his ex-wife and a public call from his own former father-in-law, a sitting GOP senator, to resign from Congress.
Trump spoke to Miller by phone Monday and told the congressman things were "not looking good," the Daily Mail reported, citing an Axios report based on multiple sources familiar with the call. Miller told the president he planned to stay in the race and that his own pollsters showed him in good shape. Hours later, Trump struck a measured tone at the White House, calling the situation "very sad" and declining to push Miller out.
The phone call came as Miller's political standing deteriorated on multiple fronts: his ex-wife Emily Moreno's abuse allegations have drawn national attention, her father, Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, publicly demanded Miller leave office, and the Cook Political Report downgraded Miller's district from "Solid Republican" to "Likely Republican" on June 18. Ohio Republicans face a Wednesday, August 5 deadline at 4:00 PM to begin the process of replacing Miller on the ballot if he were to step aside.
Miller took to X on Sunday morning for a lengthy livestream in which he categorically denied all abuse claims. He addressed the most incendiary accusation first.
"Let me begin with the most painful accusation of all, I have never abused our daughter."
He went on to deny abusing Emily Moreno and framed the allegations as a politically motivated attack. Miller released what he described as years of audio and video recordings, along with documents, in an attempt to prove his innocence. He also released emails showing that when Moreno asked about what appeared to be a bruise on their daughter's neck just two weeks earlier in mid-July, Miller responded that the two had been finger painting and provided images of the activity.
But that document dump did not land the way Miller intended. The New York Post reported that secretly recorded audio from an August 20, 2024 confrontation between Miller and Emily Moreno inadvertently corroborated key elements of her claims. In the recording, Emily expressed fear of Miller and described finding needles near his bed. Miller admitted in a separate recording to receiving testosterone replacement therapy, though he had answered "None" when asked about steroid use during custody proceedings.
The Post also reported that Emily's daughter was diagnosed with a broken collarbone and "what appeared to be a handprint bruise" on her shoulder, citing a police report. No criminal charges have been filed against Miller, a point he has emphasized repeatedly.
Miller addressed the hot-water allegation during his social media appearance. The Washington Examiner reported that Miller called the incident "horseplay" involving a kitchen sink sprayer. He also flatly denied holding a gun to Emily Moreno's head, noting that she invited him to dinner two days after the alleged incident. Miller attributed his ex-wife's claims to what he called "significant mental health challenges."
Miller told viewers bluntly during his livestream:
"If these accusations were true, I would be in jail. I would be."
His deputy chief of staff, Abigail Angelos, echoed that defense, telling the Daily Mail that "all of the allegations that have been made against him have been found to be unsubstantiated." She did not specify which body reached that conclusion.
The most damaging public rebuke came from inside Miller's own party, and his own former family. Sen. Bernie Moreno, Emily's father, posted on X Sunday with a statement that left no room for ambiguity.
"If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. 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."
Moreno also claimed Miller had "privately admitted" he "needs serious psychological help," though the senator did not specify when or how that admission occurred. Breitbart reported that Moreno called Miller "a danger to my daughter" and said he holds his breath "every minute he has custody of my granddaughter."
Miller fired back directly at his former father-in-law on X:
"If my daughter said the same thing to me, I personally wouldn't wait two years before holding him accountable."
He added: "You know this isn't true and the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus. This is all political." Miller did not specify what he meant by "scandal," and the article noted Moreno faced questions in 2024 over a 2008 ad on Adult Friend Finder.
Emily Moreno's spokesman, Stefan Mychajliw, responded to Miller's video by writing on X that "no loving parent would have ever used their daughter as a PR pawn to save their own political career." The New York Post quoted Mychajliw saying separately that "there is a documented trove of evidence that Miller has a history of violent and dangerous behavior and no amount of victim shaming will change that."
Trump's public posture stopped well short of demanding Miller's withdrawal. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One Sunday night, the president said he had "just learned about" the allegations.
"I'm going to look at it. I mean, so far, it's accusations. I'll be looking at it, yep."
By Monday, at the White House, Trump offered a warmer defense of Miller while still keeping distance from the substance of the allegations.
"It's a very sad thing. I know Max, he's a good person, I always thought he was a very good person and I'm going to let the families figure it out."
He repeated that the situation involved "accusations" and said he would "let them figure it out." The language was careful, supportive enough to avoid abandoning a loyal ally, vague enough to leave room if the facts shift further against Miller.
Miller won his 2024 race with just 51.1 percent of the vote in a district that carries a partisan voter index of R+5, comfortable in a normal year, but not the kind of margin that absorbs a scandal. The Cook Political Report downgraded the seat on June 18, and the Democratic nominee, Brian Poindexter, has already drawn national progressive support, including backing from Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna in his primary.
Poindexter wrote on X Sunday that "no one credibly accused of holding a gun to his wife's head and breaking their two-year-old daughter's collarbone belongs in the halls of power." Just The News reported that Miller denied the allegations on X and promised to release text messages, doorbell footage, and testimony as evidence of his innocence.
Meanwhile, Republican JR Majweski, who ran in Ohio's 9th district in 2024, indicated he would run for Miller's seat if Miller were to drop out. The ballot replacement deadline, Wednesday, August 5 at 4:00 PM, gives Ohio Republicans only days to act if they decide Miller is too damaged to hold the seat.
The legal picture adds another layer of pressure. Emily Moreno's attorney filed a restraining order against Miller on Thursday. The couple reached a divorce settlement in June 2025 that included joint custody of their daughter and $2,500 per month in child support from Miller. Photos obtained exclusively by the Daily Mail earlier this year showed injuries Emily documented on her arms and torso on the day of an alleged incident, with additional images taken the following day, February 2. The year of those photos was not specified.
Miller, for his part, has not wavered. In a video released Sunday, he said flatly: "I'm not getting out of this race, and I'm winning in November."
Whether Miller stays or goes, the damage is already done. A Republican seat that should have been a lock is now a live contest, and the party has days, not weeks, to decide whether loyalty to one congressman is worth risking a seat in Congress.
