Kasich: There’s a disease in American politics

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) on Monday said there’s a “serious disease” affecting U.S. politics.

“There’s a disease now in American politics. It’s a serious disease,” Kasich said while appearing on “MSNBC Live” with Stephanie Ruhle.

{mosads}“It’s like everybody just is worried about the next elections,” Kasich said. “So the Republicans are like, ‘Well, we can’t deal with DACA, or we can’t deal with the border, or we can’t deal with trade and do anything to say that the president was incorrect on this [because] it might deflate our base.’ ” 

Kasich, who ran a failed campaign for president in 2016 and has been mentioned as a potential 2020 candidate, said the same holds true for Democrats. 

“If you’re a Democrat, then you’re against everything the Republicans are doing. If you’re a Republican, you’re against everything the Democrats are doing,” Kasich said, further adding that if a Democrat doesn’t adopt left-wing ideology, he or she “can’t be approved by Bernie Sanders.”

Kasich also weighed in on the president’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which has resulted in the separation of undocumented children from their families and prompted criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. 

“When you are the strongest, the most powerful, the wealthiest, then you have broad shoulders. You don’t shrink away and whine and blame,” Kasich responded when asked about the controversial policy. “That’s not my country. That’s not what America’s been.” 

“We’ve been willing to do a lot of things to help people around the world,” the Ohio governor continued. “That’s why what we’re seeing happening on our border with taking children from their parents.”

“Think about the fact that in our country, children, young children, are being separated from their mothers and fathers,” Kasich said. “Could you imagine the terrifying effect on these kids?”