John Kasich: Politics Has Become Too Divisive
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Ohio Governor John Kasich discussed his new book, Two Paths: America Divided Or United, and his bid for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election with Dom Giordano on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, decrying the state of politics today, with Donald Trump in the White House.
Kasich lamented how combative political discourse has become, blaming his party as much as the Democrats for creating the climate of anger and outrage he sees with efforts to block Trump's agenda.
"The same thing was going on when Barack Obama [was President]. We couldn't get people to agree he was born in America. This has not been happening just under Trump, this has been happening now for a couple decades. As we have moved down the path, it's gotten harder and harder for all of us. We've got families that can't get along now. It used to be we went bowling, now we study politics and argue all the time. That doesn't build a healthier country."
He stated he is taking a different stance than many of his political contemporaries, by not elevating his party above all else.
"I didn't support Hillary Clinton, but I also know that I'm not going to support any candidate, in my party, outside of my party, who approaches this business with a negative, divisive position. I can't help people who think it's party over everything. It's not for me. I don't believe that. I am a positive populist. Donald Trump, during the campaign, was a negative populist. He called me and asked for my support and I said, we have to lift people in the country, and not divide them. I'm sorry. I'm not supporting people who I think divide people rather than lift them. Now that he's President, I'm supporting him because he's President and I will praise him when he does well and, if it's appropriate, I'll criticize him when I don't agree with him."
Looking back, Kasich believed he was well positioned early on in last year's GOP presidential primary race, but didn't find his groove until too late.
"I, basically, made a decision as to whether I could compete and win, listening to my friend John Sununu in New Hampshire. We thought that we could do well in New Hampshire. When I got there, I realized that no one knew who I was. We did 106 town hall meetings and I ended up finishing second. Normally, in a presidential race, when you finish second and you're a total unknown, you get a big bump but it never happened. I never got the bump I needed to go to South Carolina and it wasn't until we got, really, to the Midwest and then back to the Northeast that it started to go well again."
Kasich and Giordano will appear together this Friday for an event at the Museum of the American Revolution. Tickets are still available at cbsphilly.com/speakerseries.
