During an appearance on Friday’s CBS This Morning, Ohio Governor John Kasich was praised for his decision to “buck” the GOP and expand Medicaid and the CBS hosts urged him to do the same and "buck" the GOP to condemn Donald Trump.
Much like the CBS hosts did during an interview with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, the discussion was dominated by asking the other candidates to assess Donald Trump’s performance during Thursday’s debate, with Charlie Rose immediately asking Kasich to “analyze what happened last night with Donald Trump and your assessment.”
Despite Kasich’s attempt to focus on his own performance during the debate, Norah O’Donnell followed up her colleague by again pushing for the Ohio governor to condemn Trump’s sexist comments:
But to that point of what nerve that he's touching, what nerve do you think he's touching in the Republican Party? And this is a question that Megyn Kelly asked when he calls women fat pigs, slobs. Is that the kind of language that's appropriate?
Kasich rejected Trump’s language but that didn’t satisfy O’Donnell who eagerly touted him as an “independent leader” within the Republican Party as a reason for him to take on his party once again:
[Y]ou’ve bucked your own party by taking Medicaid, expanding Medicaid in the state of Ohio. You passionately defended that last fight as trying to take care of the poor and mentally ill in your state. Why wouldn't you buck, then, others in your party who are saying things that are completely inappropriate? I mean, you've shown to be an independent leader in the past.
Despite O’Donnell’s desire for Kasich to “buck” “others in your party” for their comments, the Ohio governor pointed out that he had already condemned Trump’s comment and was merely “acknowledging the fact that the guy has hit a nerve. I didn't tell you I approve of everything he's doing.”
See relevant transcript below.
CBS This Morning
August 7, 201
CHARLIE ROSE: Governor Kasich is with us now from Cleveland for his first network television interview since the debate. Good morning.
JOHN KASICH: Hi, Charlie.
ROSE: Let me begin with this. Last night's debate, many people are trying to analyze the performance of Donald Trump. You praised him for having a resonance with America in his campaign, but analyze what happened last night with Donald Trump and your assessment.
KASICH: Come on, Charlie, I'm not an analyst. You're the analyst. I was just saying that he's touched a nerve. I mean, you don't get this kind of support in a Republican primary unless you're touching a nerve. And so I think it has to be acknowledged. The question is what do we do about the concerns that Americans have? And so what I try to do is I try to be positive about that and have positive solutions, which I've had throughout my entire political career.
NORAH O’DONNELL: I want to get to those because you really did offer a lot of substantive policy-based solutions last night. But to that point of what nerve that he's touching, what nerve do you think he's touching in the Republican Party? And this is a question that Megyn Kelly asked when he calls women fat pigs, slobs. Is that the kind of language that's appropriate?
KASICH: No, no, no. Of course it's not. Everybody knows that, Norah. And look. What I say that he's touching a nerve, you remember that movie "Network" where the guy said "I can't take it anymore, and I'm fed up." And I think that there's a lot of Americans that, number one, they don't respect the government. There are some Americans who think the government is actually worked against them. And there are people who are struggling to make it. 51-year-old guy who they walk in one day and say you don't have a job anymore or the problem of the tsunami of drugs, it might take down your neighborhood or even your own family.
And I think people are just very unsettled. And so they're responding to this notion that the system is broken, and let me take a sledgehammer and start all over again. I understand that. You know, look. My dad was a mailman, and I understand the challenges that people have when they don't think things are right. But I think there are solutions, the solutions that I offer, they're probably much, much different than somebody else.
O’DONNELL: Here's what's interesting to me, Governor Kasich. I mean, you’ve bucked your own party by taking Medicaid, expanding Medicaid in the state of Ohio. You passionately defended that last fight as trying to take care of the poor and mentally ill in your state. Why wouldn't you buck, then, others in your party who are saying things that are completely inappropriate? I mean, you've shown to be an independent leader in the past.
KASICH: Norah, look. I'm just acknowledging the fact that the guy has hit a nerve. I didn't tell you I approve of everything he's doing.
O’DONNELL: Okay.
KASICH: And frankly, it's okay. I mean, if it keeps putting me on TV to talk about somebody else, that's fine. But I'd rather talk about the things I care about. And you know, if you talk about Medicaid, I don't want to see the mentally ill in prison. I'd rather get them on their feet. I don’t want the drug addicted in a revolving door in prison. I want them to be rehabbed and on their feet. And for the working poor, have health care and not spend all their time in the emergency room driving up the cost for all of us. So those are the things I care about and economic growth and balancing budgets and cutting taxes. That's what I care about, not all this other noise out here.
