NEW YORK CITY -- As the fallout surrounding President Trump’s comments about Charlottesville continues, Ohio Gov. John Kasich is speaking out.
“President Trump needs to listen to the people before he takes this presidency in a place that is not acceptable for our country.”
Gov. Kasich, who ran against Trump in 2016, discussed his thoughts on the Today show Wednesday morning.
His response was strong when asked how he felt about President Trump saying there were “fine” people mixed in with those causing the violence in Virginia.
“It’s terrible. This is terrible. The President has to totally condemn this. This is not about winning an argument. Now these folks apparently are gonna go other places. They think they had some sort of a victory. There is no moral equivalency between the KKK, the neo-Nazis and anybody else. Anybody else is not the issue. These folks went there to disrupt.”
Today co-host Matt Lauer then asked Gov. Kasich what politicians within the White House now need to do.
“I didn’t endorse the man because I felt that he was a person of division. I have been hoping and I have been restrained in wanting him to be better. The presidency is being reduced to another CEO job. The presidency is the most important job in the country, and there is a bitterness setting in that may not be able to be removed. Look, I want him to do well. I want Donald Trump to understand it’s not about winning an argument. It’s about bringing the country together. It’s not about having some argument trying to justify these people on the left who went to a sweet town like Charlottesville for purposes of bringing violence. He’s got to fix this and Republicans have to speak out. Plain and simple. Who cares what party you’re in?”
He also labeled the people who carried out the violence in Charlottesville as “pathetic.”
