In early August, John Kasich confirmed some head-scratching rumors that he was approached by the Trump campaign to be the real estate mogul’s running mate. How Kasich described the pitch was pretty incredible. If the Ohio governor is to believed, Trump was interested in nabbing a political insider who was not only part of the GOP establishment but would also do all the work. In essence, he wanted the VP to take on all the “domestic and foreign policy” tasks while Trump would be the face of the White House. You know, the guy who would Make America Great Again with his flashy displays of showmanship.
Well, Kasich didn’t bite (and one can only imagine a much different VP debate than the one that took place). His team then told the RNC to shove it after an apparent threat upon those to did not endorse Trump. Following the news of Trump’s enormously lewd 2005 comments about women, Kasich’s responses communicate an air of vindication, but he’s also obviously disappointed that it came to this. Kasich first tweeted about how Trump’s comments were “indefensible.”
Make no mistake the comments were wrong and offensive. They are indefensible.
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) October 7, 2016
Kasich then took his time in composing a proper statement, which he released to Cleveland news stations like WKYC NBC in Cleveland. This is a long one, but it deserves to be excerpted in full:
“Nothing that has happened in the last 48 hours is surprising to me or many others. Many people were angry and questioned why I would not endorse Donald Trump or attend the Republican Convention. I’ve long had concerns with Donald Trump that go beyond his temperament. We have substantive policy differences on conservative issues like trade, our relationship with Russia, and the importance of balancing the federal budget. I’ve held out hope that he would change on those disqualifying policy positions, but he has not. I’ve also encouraged him to change his behavior for the better and offer a positive, inclusive vision for our country, but he has not.”
It’s clear that he hasn’t changed and has no interest in doing so. As a result, Donald Trump is a man I cannot and should not support. The actions of the last day are disgusting, but that’s not why I reached this decision, it has been an accumulation of his words and actions that many have been warning about. I will not vote for a nominee who has behaved in a manner that reflects so poorly on our country. Our country deserves better.”
Where the Republican party goes from here will remain a mystery. Trump has vowed to never withdraw from the race, and Sunday is debate night. Get your popcorn ready.
(Via WKYC NBC in Cleveland)
