Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Friday defended his statement during the GOP debate that Donald Trump’s coarse delivery on the issues has resonated with voters.
Reiterating that he’s not a political analyst, Kasich said on "CBS This Morning" that Trump has clearly "touched a nerve."
"You don’t get this kind of support in a Republican primary unless you’re touching a nerve, so I think it has to be acknowledged," he said.
Story continues below video.
The electorate is "struggling" and "unsettled," he added, "so they're responding to this notion that the system is broken and let me take a sledgehammer and start all over again. I understand that."
Kasich said he has solutions that are "much, much different" than others in the Republican field, offering as examples his decision to expand Medicaid in the Buckeye State.
"I don’t want to see the mentally ill in prison," he said. "I’d rather get them on their feet. I don't want the drug addicted in a revolving door in prison. I want them to be rehabbed on their feet. And for the working poor, I want them to have healthcare and not spend all their time in the emergency room, driving up the cost for all of us.
"Those are things I care about, and economic growth and balanced budgets and cutting taxes, not all this other noise out here."
A proponent of traditional marriage, Kasich also expounded on his answer to a debate question about how he’d feel if one of his children was gay. He said Thursday night he’d love them no matter what and that he had recently attended a friend’s same-sex marriage despite his personal convictions.
"I don’t have to agree with everybody to like them or to respect them or to care about them," he said Friday.
"I’m for traditional marriage, but I’ve got friends that don't practice that and God bless them."
Kasich said his Christian faith teaches him to practice unconditional love.
"If the Lord can give me unconditional love for all the things I do that are not good, then I ought to give unconditional love to other people that are around and I try my best."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.