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Trump Really Wanted Kasich as His Running Mate

July 20, 2016 · 8:01 am ET · Leave a Comment

New York Times: “As a candidate, Kasich declared in March that Trump was ‘really not prepared to be president of the United States,’ and the following month he took the highly unusual step of coordinating with his rival Sen. Ted Cruz in an effort to deny Trump the nomination. But according to the Kasich adviser (who spoke only under the condition that he not be named), Donald Jr. wanted to make him an offer nonetheless: Did he have any interest in being the most powerful vice president in history?”

“When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.”

“Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?”

“‘Making America great again’ was the casual reply.”

2016 Campaign Donald Trump, John Kasich

Kasich Snubs Trump at Convention In His Home State

July 18, 2016 · 10:30 am ET · Leave a Comment

NBC News: “Thursday will mark the one-year anniversary of Ohio Gov. John Kasich becoming the final entrant in a crowded GOP primary field in which Donald Trump was viewed as little more than a celebrity sideshow. But that same day — July 21 — will also be when Trump steps on the stage in Cleveland to accept the party’s presidential nomination. And Kasich won’t be there to welcome him.”

On Today, Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort said that Kasich is “embarrassing the state” by not attending.

2016 Campaign John Kasich

Kasich Says Clinton Has Moved Too Far Left

July 17, 2016 · 4:27 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Gov. John Kasich (R) hasn’t endorsed Donald Trump but he blasted Hillary Clinton in a New Hampshire Union Leader op-ed for being pushed to the left:

Hillary Clinton may have locked up her party’s nomination, but it is unclear who is in charge. It is starting to look more like Bernie Sanders is driving the bus and Clinton is merely a passenger.

It should be no surprise that Hillary Clinton is trying to be all things to all people. There is a reason she has been stereotyped over the years as being ambitious and calculating. But, at a time when Clinton has an opportunity to demonstrate leadership, she has instead chosen to double down on liberal orthodoxy in an attempt to please narrow interests rather than appeal to all Americans.

2016 Campaign John Kasich

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Police Want Open Carry Suspended for GOP Convention

July 17, 2016 · 3:47 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“The head of Cleveland’s largest police union is calling on Ohio Gov. John Kasich to temporarily restrict the state’s open carry gun laws during this week’s Republican National Convention following Sunday’s shooting in Louisiana that killed three officers and wounded at least three others,” CNN reports.

However, Kasich responded to the request: “Ohio governors do not have the power to arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws as suggested.”

2016 Campaign, Gun Control John Kasich

Republicans Try to Get Kasich On Board

July 11, 2016 · 6:16 pm ET · Leave a Comment

CNN: “With just seven days until the GOP convention, the quest to convince Kasich to back Donald Trump — or even participate in the convention he campaigned to bring to Cleveland — has been quiet but feverish.”

“RNC Chairman Reince Priebus has pressed Kasich allies, even promising that donors will spring to aid Kasich’s future endeavors if he cooperates now. Trump’s top aide, Paul Manafort, has touted their increasingly professional campaign operation in the hopes of winning over the Ohio governor. Even vice presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is joining the mix, lobbing a last minute plea to Kasich’s team to get the governor to back Trump.”

2016 Campaign John Kasich

Kasich In an Odd Position

July 11, 2016 · 6:55 am ET · Leave a Comment

Gov. John Kasich “finds himself in a peculiar situation these days. He’s responsible for helping to safeguard a Republican convention he will not speak at, a nominee he will not support and an arena he probably will not step foot in,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Kasich: “It is odd, isn’t it? It’s going to be strange.”

2016 Campaign John Kasich

Team Kasich Still Promoting Their Man

June 30, 2016 · 2:00 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Less than three weeks before the Republican convention, Gov. John Kasich’s team is boasting that he “is the most popular Republican politician in the nation,” the Columbus Dispatch reports.

“John Weaver, chief strategist for the defunct John Kasich presidential campaign, sent an email this afternoon highlighting the results of new polling showing Kasich — not Trump — as the strongest potential candidate against the presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.”

2016 Campaign John Kasich

Kasich Says He Can’t Support Trump

June 16, 2016 · 7:14 am ET · 27 Comments

Gov. John Kasich (R) “is in agony over his decision last year to support the Republican nominee and the reality that Donald Trump is his party’s presumptive nominee,” Politico reports.

Said Kasich: “You know, it’s painful. It’s painful. You know, people even get divorces, you know? I mean, sometimes, things come out that, look, I’m sorry that this has happened. But we’ll see where it ends up. I’m not making any final decision yet, but at this point, I just can’t do it.”

2016 Campaign John Kasich

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

June 9, 2016 · 1:01 pm ET · 23 Comments

“Hard to say. If you look at Twitter, they have this thing called ‘trending.’ It’s trending poorly.”

— Gov. John Kasich, quoted by Politico, when asked if he would back Donald Trump for president.

2016 Campaign John Kasich

Kasich Instructs Delegates to Remain Bound

May 24, 2016 · 5:11 pm ET · 12 Comments

“Gov. John Kasich, who suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination earlier this month, is instructing the 161 delegates he won to remain bound to him through the party’s June nomination convention,” the Washington Post reports.

“Kasich sent personal letters Monday to Republican officials in the 16 states and the District of Columbia where he won delegates, requesting that they stay bound to him in accordance with party rules. Kasich has not thrown his support to Donald Trump, who became the presumptive nominee in early May after he and Sen. Ted Cruz left the race.”

2016 Campaign John Kasich

Kasich Won’t Make Third Party Bid

May 16, 2016 · 3:27 pm ET · 22 Comments

Gov. John Kasich (R) told CNN that he would not mount a third party bid for the White House, putting an end to budding hopes that the former Republican presidential candidate would reenter the race.

Said Kasich: “I’m not gonna do that. I gave it my best where I am. I just think running third party doesn’t feel right. I think it’s not constructive.”

2016 Campaign John Kasich

Kasich Remains Cool to Joining Trump Ticket

May 10, 2016 · 11:23 am ET · 47 Comments

Bloomberg: “Trump staffers have spent weeks gauging Kasich’s interest in being on the ticket, according to people familiar with Trump’s vice presidential vetting process. The talks have gone nowhere, the people said.”

“Despite the brick wall, some Ohio Republicans, as well as prominent financial backers of the governor, are pushing for him to change his mind, arguing that he’s an experienced chief executive with broad bipartisan support in a battleground state crucial to winning the White House.”

2016 Campaign John Kasich

Kasich Will Quit the Presidential Race

May 4, 2016 · 11:52 am ET · 97 Comments

Gov. John Kasich will suspend his campaign for president, NBC News reports.

Donald Trump had previously questioned why Kasich would stay in the race, telling the New York Times, “I guess he likes the food in California. The whole thing is ridiculous.”

2016 Campaign John Kasich

More Evidence the Cruz-Kasich Deal Backfired

May 3, 2016 · 8:32 am ET · 16 Comments

First Read: “The alliance between Ted Cruz and John Kasich to divvy up primary states probably made sense on paper; after all, it theoretically could have given Cruz a clear shot in Indiana. The problem? It backfired, big time. Our new NBC News| SurveyMonkey poll shows that a big majority – 70% — of Republicans are either uncomfortable (35%) or angry (35%) about the deal.”

“What’s more, the vast majority of GOP voters are pretty cynical when it comes to Cruz’s move to pick Carly Fiorina as his running mate: 83% of GOPers said the pick was made to revitalize Cruz’s campaign, not because Fiorina was the best person for the job. Another poll out this morning from Morning Consult also shows that Fiorina hasn’t helped Cruz much overall. A quarter of Republican voters said the decision made them more likely to vote for Cruz, while about the same share – 24% — said they were actually less likely to vote for him as a result.”

2016 Campaign John Kasich, Ted Cruz

Ohioans Wants Kasich to Quit

May 2, 2016 · 10:02 am ET · 20 Comments

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Ohio finds that just 38% of Gov. John Kasich’s constituents think he should stay in the presidential race, compared to 49% who think it’s time for him to drop out.

2016 Campaign John Kasich

Cruz-Kasich Alliance Backfired

May 2, 2016 · 9:33 am ET · 4 Comments

First Read: “Here’s another finding from our NBC/WSJ/Marist poll: 58% of likely Republican primary voters in Indiana say they disapprove of Cruz and Kasich teaming up to beat Trump in the Hoosier State, while 34% say they approve of the move. What’s more, only 22% consider the Cruz-Kasich alliance a major factor in deciding their vote, 15% say it’s a minor factor and 63% say it would play no factor at all. And if you remove Kasich from the race and reallocate his second-choice support in the NBC/WSJ/Marist poll, Trump still leads Cruz by double digits, 53%-42%.”

“So, yes, it appears that Cruz-Kasich alliance — whereby Kasich promised not to campaign in Indiana to help Cruz, while Cruz promised to return the favor in Oregon and New Mexico — backfired. Big time.”

2016 Campaign John Kasich, Ted Cruz

Cruz Insists He Has No Alliance with Kasich

April 28, 2016 · 2:07 pm ET · 37 Comments

Sen. Ted Cruz “downplayed the idea of an alliance between himself and Ohio Gov. John Kasich to prevent Republican front-runner Donald Trump from locking up the nomination,” CNN reports.

Said Cruz: “I recognize that the media is all eager to talk about an alliance. There is no alliance. Kasich and I made a determination where to focus our energies. Where to focus our assets, where to focus our resources.”

2016 Campaign John Kasich, Ted Cruz

A Failed Pact Explains Why Trump Is Winning

April 28, 2016 · 9:59 am ET · 17 Comments

Matt Bai: “Like Stalin and Churchill huddled over a map of Europe in 1944, Ted Cruz and John Kasich began a very odd week by announcing — publicly, for reasons known only to them — that they were divvying up the remaining primary states in order to maintain individual spheres of influence. Cruz would get Indiana (which is next to Ohio), while Kasich would get New Mexico (which shares a border with Texas). Super-logical.”

“Of course, primary voters — unlike, say, Polish peasants — tend to do whatever they want, so all this plotting didn’t exactly make Cruz and Kasich grandmasters of global domination. More like a couple of guys playing Risk in somebody’s basement… And like most games of Risk, the whole thing fell apart within a few hours, as both campaigns backtracked and said they weren’t telling voters in any state not to vote for their chosen candidates, exactly. They just weren’t telling voters they should vote for their chosen candidates, either.”

2016 Campaign Donald Trump, John Kasich, Ted Cruz

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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