Former Republican presidential candidate John Kasich said Thursday the media bear “a lot of responsibility” for the rise of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. “The media gave him two billion dollars worth of free press. I mean, I could be having a press conference and they’d have an empty podium with Trump speaking there.”
In an interview with MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Kasich said “I think the elites have let us down in a lot of places, and I think, you know, two billion dollars worth of free press? You couldn’t get enough of it.”
Scarborough said Morning Joe had a standing offer to all the candidates to call in for interviews, but Kasich said ultimately, Trump was a better draw. “It was all ratings. Come on, who’s kidding who? I’d call in, you’d get no ratings. He calls in, you get good ratings.”
Kasich was asked about his pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee, and whether he supports Trump. “Right now, I’m not.”
.@JohnKasich gives @JoeNBC his take on Trump and the GOP https://t.co/tqeyPdZqXD
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) June 16, 2016