John Kasich on Donald Trump: As president, "you don't get do-overs"
Ohio Gov. John Kasich has five problems with Donald Trump -- and they're all things that have come up in the last 24 hours.
- CLICK HERE or on the photo above to see Kasich's response to Trump
At a Manhattan press conference, Kasich stepped up to the podium with a list in hand, telling reporters the GOP front-runner simply isn't ready for the presidency.
"As you all know, I pretty much speak right off the cuff," he said, "But I had to list five things that continue to prove that Donald Trump is clearly not prepared to be president of the United States, commander-in-chief, leader of the free world."
Kasich went on to list the things that trouble him about Trump, beginning with his comments on abortion Wednesday, in which he first suggested women should be "punished" for receiving abortions but then worked to walk back his statements. Kasich also comments about the use of nuclear weapons his thoughts on NATO and the Geneva Conventions, and his comments about Muslim immigration.
"It appears that when he does these events and people press him, he becomes unmoored and then has to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to correct them," he said. But as president, he added: "You don't get do-overs. You need to be able to get it right the first time."
Asked if this was a "watershed" moment for Trump's campaign, Kasich said he didn't know--but that when so many controversial things are said in a 24-hour period, "you start getting people's attention." The candidate suggested he understands the concerns of people who have chosen to channel their anger and frustration into supporting Trump.
"For those people who have been fervent trump supporters, their frustration, their expressions do not fall on deaf ears for me," he said. "I know that many of those Trump supporters are people who fear for the security of their jobs believing politicians don't care about them as they see the rich get richer...I understand the concern they have about the fact that they continue to work hard but they can't seem to get ahead."
Kasich said he believes his message will get through to those people eventually, and that voters are starting to learn more about him. "I think at some point people will hear it," he said. "If they don't,...then I have tried my best."
He reiterated, as he has for the past few weeks, that the GOP race will go to a contested convention, telling one reporter "there's a greater chance that you will fly out of this building and land in Midtown" than that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz will head to the nomination with 1,237 delegates.
And as for concerns that the convention could get out of hand -- Trump, for example, has suggested there could be "riots" if he's not named the GOP nominee -- Kasich said he trusts the delegates will take the process seriously.
"I believe that the overwhelming majority of the delegates at a convention will take this responsibility very seriously, and I think that's where we're going," he said, suggesting it would be "less Kardashians, more who's going to be president ... not that I have anything against the Kardashians."
Since he was holding the press conference in New York, Kasich made reference to the heat he's taken for eating pizza with a fork during a campaign stop in the state earlier this week.
"Despite the fact that I got caught eating a piece of my pizza with a fork, I think we can overcome that," he joked. "And by the way, I want you all to know that despite all the criticism I'm getting, my wife, who heard about this on the Twitter, called me last night and said she is proud I finally learned how to use utensils."