Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday refused to state that President Donald Trump is the national leader of the Republican Party.
When asked on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" who leads the GOP, Kasich, who is Republican, said "I don't kind of think of it that way, any more than I think who's the head of the Democratic Party right now.
He added that "Obviously, the president is always viewed as being the titular head, but that doesn't mean I have to go along with that philosophy."
The governor stated that "I feel that I have a right to define what it means to be a conservative and a Republican, and there are multiple people who can do that."
Kasich emphasized that "I run the seventh largest state in the country. I have a right to say what I think it means to be a Republican and a conservative. And I am a conservative."
He added that "Our budget is balanced, we're $2 billion in the hold. We've grown 479,000 jobs, but at the same time, we're also helping people who live in the shadows to get out of the shadows and get opportunity. Why is that not conservative?"
Kasich, who was one of numerous Republicans to run against Trump for the GOP nomination last year, said he is currently more concerned about finding common-sense solutions to problems than worry about what people label it.
He stressed that "We have eroded some of the values that our mothers and fathers taught us" and said we should all be asking, "Why I am taking my cues from politicians, celebrities, athletes — why don't I just get it right where I am," from the bottom up, not the top down.
The Ohio governor added that "I don't wake up every day and take my cues on my mood from what I see on the front page [of newspapers]. I just don't operate that way. What I am most concerned about is can I talk to people who think differently than me and show them respect . . . and be patient with people . . . because we're losing our patience and we have to calm down."
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