Bernie Moreno

WASHINGTON - On the same day he told reporters that domestic abuse allegations against U.S. Rep. Max Miller were a matter for Miller to work out with his family, President Donald Trump told Miller he had concerns about his re-election chances.

Miller told The Wall Street Journal that he spoke with Trump on Monday, and the president told him his re-election prospects weren’t good. The Bay Village Republican pushed back.

“He said he had a poll with no detail, and I pushed back with our poll that has us winning by 9 with our message out there,” Miller told the Journal. “He kept on reiterating it’s going to be tough, and it’s going to be a really hard one for you.”

Cleveland.com has reached out to Miller for comment on his call with Trump. Miller told the Journal that Trump “was supportive of me over the phone.”

Asked about the allegations against Miller in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump called Miller a “very good person” and said “I’m going to let the families figure that out.”

“It’s a very sad thing, especially when you know somebody so well to be going through that, but it’s accusations, and I’m going to let them figure that out,” Trump continued.

Trump’s remarks came the day after Miller’s former father-in-law, Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Westlake, said Miller lacks the character to hold elected office and “should not serve in the House of Representatives.”

In a post on X that described Miller as a danger to his daughter and granddaughter, Moreno said his former son-in-law “needs to seek professional help to end the clear pattern of abuse he has left in his wake.”

Moreno said he initially tried to stay quiet and keep the matter private “out of concern for the safety of my family,” but said “Miller’s increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior has made that impossible.”

Moreno spoke out shortly after Miller spent more than 15 minutes live on “X” disputing domestic abuse allegations from Emily Moreno point by point and vowing to continue his congressional re-election bid.

Miller said no criminal charges have been filed against him, and no court or government agency has ever substantiated a claim of abuse. He said media coverage of the allegations has triggered death threats against him and his staff and followed up by posting documents from his divorce and custody case to a public Dropbox folder so voters could review them.

Miller responded to Moreno’s statement on social media, calling it untrue and saying, “the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus.”

“If my daughter said the same thing to me, I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable,” Miller continued. “This is all political.”

On Monday, several other Senate Republicans, including West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito told reporters they thought Miller should leave the race.

Miller responded to Capito directly on “X,” writing “Every accusation that has been thrown my way has been found unsubstantiated by the court system as well as mine and my ex-wife’s court appointed mediator (who is a psychologist and mandatory reporter). Let me know if you want me to read the rest of the files to you.”

Other Republicans, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, are standing by Miller. In an interview last week with CNN, Jordan described the domestic abuse allegations as “a family matter” and said he hopes Miller wins re-election.

“I know Max is a good man.” said Jordan. “I was up campaigning for him. ... He’s done a good job as a member of Congress, and we should all pray for his family. These are difficult times that they’re going through.”

When asked about the domestic abuse allegations against Miller on NewsMax, U.S. Sen. Jon Husted said he’s “saddened by the whole situation” and would like to focus “on letting them sort through this at a family level.”

“The political ramifications, I think, will work themselves out,” Husted said in the Tuesday morning interview. “But I just personally am sad about the situation, and I hope that that the president’s intervention can help move things along.”

The abuse allegations have become the focus of campaign attacks against Miller, whose district covers southern and western Cuyahoga County, northern Wayne County, and all of Medina and Ashland counties.

It also prompted bipartisan calls for a House Ethics Committee investigation. The Democratic Women’s Caucus called the claims “deeply disturbing,” and Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, said they “must be investigated, and if true, he should resign immediately.”

In a social media post Tuesday, Miller said he plans to “file my own 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,” Miller said on X. “The accusations continue to change, but my facts stay the same. I am looking forward to my colleagues reading everything for themselves.”

Miller’s path to Congress ran through Trump. When the previous Republican to hold the GOP-leaning congressional seat, Anthony Gonzalez of Rocky River, voted to impeach Trump over his role in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Miller launched a successful Trump-backed primary bid to oust him.

Miller campaigned for Trump in 2016, and later worked for him as a White House aide. Trump held his first political rally after leaving office at the Lorain County fairgrounds to support Miller’s campaign.

Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, who is in a custody dispute with Miller over their two-year-old daughter, filed legal papers in May that claim Miller abused her during their marriage, including an incident in which she said he threw hot water on her from a skillet he was using to cook eggs. The filing included photos of bruises.

Miller has sued his ex-wife for defamation. His defamation lawsuit says the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services investigated child abuse claims leveled by Moreno in 2025 and 2026 and found the allegations were unsubstantiated. The legal papers say it closed the cases and provided written dismissal notices to Miller.

Emily Moreno asked a Cuyahoga County judge to dismiss Miller’s defamation suit under Ohio’s anti-SLAPP law, which shields people from lawsuits meant to punish them for speaking on matters of public concern.