Gov. Kasich weighs in on Trump comments, same-sex marriage
While Ohio Gov. John Kasich garnered attention for his candor in saying GOP rival Donald Trump is "hitting a nerve" with voters in the U.S., he's making it clear that was just part of his point during the first Republican prime-time debate in Cleveland.
Asked on "CBS This Morning" whether he also thought Trump's language in calling women "fat pigs" and "slobs" was appropriate, Kasich responded, "No, no, no, no, no. Of course it's not. Everybody knows that."
"I'm just acknowledging the fact that the guy has hit a nerve. I didn't tell you I approve of everything he's doing," Kasich said Friday.
Fox News host Megyn Kelly had asked Trump about disparaging names he's called women in the past, to which Trump said, "I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct."
Kasich went on to explain that the billionaire real estate mogul resonates with voters because some Americans think the government has worked against them.
"They're just very unsettled, and so they're responding to this notion that the system is broken," Kasich said.
Kasich had the lowest poll numbers of the GOP candidates going into the prime-time debate, but he received a warm welcome from his home state crowd and won praise for a series of answers that stood out, including his response about same-sex marriage.
"I just went to a wedding of a friend of mine who happens to be gay. Because somebody doesn't think the way I do, doesn't mean that I can't care about them or can't love them," Kasich said, to much applause, during the debate.
"When it comes to the issue of gay marriage, I'm for traditional marriage, but you know, I've got friends that don't practice that, and you know, God bless them," Kasich said on "CBS This Morning." "What I said last night was, if the Lord can give me unconditional love for all the things that I do that are not good, then I ought to give unconditional love to other people that are around. I try my best."