Ohio Gov. John Kasich made an appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" Monday to talk politics and President Trump, though those are two things he said should no longer be the country's focus.
Kasich has been critical of Trump since running against him in the 2016 primary election. Among his past critiques were that Trump is hungry for attention and could "drive America down into a ditch."
"There hasn't been a big change," Kasich quipped to Seth Meyers on Monday.
Meyers noted that many who ran against Trump in 2016 were critical of him, but ultimately joined his staff when he took office. When asked how he'd approach working with Trump if he were in the House or Senate, Kasich pointed out the need to resolve issues, rather than adhere to party lines.
"I'm sick of politics, aren't you?" Kasich said to a round of applause. "What I try to do is, let's look at a problem and go and fix it and that's all you can do."
Kasich noted that his job is to talk policy rather than resort to name-calling. As a result, he said his focus is on those caught in-between divisive politics.
"The country is, frankly, more divided today, or has settled in -- hard left, hard right, neither side listens to the other side," Kasich said. "What we're focusing on now is the middle -- those people who are not hard right or hard left."
Kasich also said avoiding divisive politics means avoiding focus on President Trump. Instead, Kasich believes the focus should be on day-to-day, bottom-up improvements.
"I mean really, does the president affect you everyday?" Kasich asked. "What affects you everyday are your neighbors, your job, those are the things."
Kasich also said his focus is on millennials and Gen X, whom he said he believes are committed to improving the country.
"They're the hope for the future of our country," Kasich said.
The subject of DACA ignited a passionate response from Kasich, who has been vocal in his support for Dreamers.
"It's mind-boggling to me," Kasich said. "You've got kids who were five or six years old who are now in their 20s and now we're going to deport them? They're fully integrated in our society and the Congress can't figure out how to get this done? This should be done in five minutes. They should not be used as a pawn to negotiate anything else.
"We're dealing with people, flesh and blood -- not numbers, not statistics, and not political jargon."
