Max Miller

It was the cable news equivalent of tweeting through it. Or trying to.

Representative Max Miller, the Ohio Republican facing a pileup of allegations that he emotionally and physically abused his ex-wife and his toddler daughter, submitted to a live on-air interrogation from CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday.

For Mr. Miller, the 23-minute appearance was a high-stakes attempt to confront the questions surrounding his personal conduct, as he tries to salvage his flailing re-election campaign amid mounting calls for him to drop out of his state’s Republican primary.

For Mr. Tapper — who personally booked the interview — it was an opportunity to pin down Mr. Miller about his reaction to several shocking allegations. And while Mr. Miller remained defiant, insisting he would not abandon his candidacy, he repeatedly evaded, deflected or struggled to respond to Mr. Tapper’s queries.

Afterward, many reviews, even within Mr. Miller’s own party, were not kind.

The congressman cannot keep “litigating this on national TV day after day,” Scott Jennings, one of CNN’s lead Republican commentators, said on the network hours later. He called on Mr. Miller to drop his bid for re-election. “Mr. Miller, whatever you think your future is going to be,” Mr. Jennings said, “put your family first.”

Mr. Miller’s team decided to book one lengthy interview with a newscaster they believed would be tough but fair with their candidate, according to a person with knowledge of their discussions about strategy. The team also wanted to pick a news outlet that could not be dismissed as too friendly to the candidate, the person said.

Mr. Miller is seeking a third term. He has denied the accusations from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno; the couple divorced in 2024 and have been embroiled in a custody battle. Ms. Moreno has said that her ex-husband held a gun to her head and threw hot water from a skillet at her, and fractured their daughter’s collarbone; Mr. Miller has said without evidence that Ms. Moreno has mental health problems and has called her a liar and stalker.

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