John Kasich Quotes & Sayings

I don't look at polls, I pay no attention to them. I pay attention to the public, and the sense of where the public is on certain things, but you have to lead. — John Kasich

We've unveiled the most comprehensive reform budget people have seen in a generation. — John Kasich

America is a miracle country. And we have to restore the sense that the Amiracle (ph) will apply to you. Each and every one of the people in this country who's watching tonight, lift everybody, unite everybody and build a stronger United States of America again. It will be and can be done. — John Kasich

We don't have to fight all the time. It can be done, and we will be great when we join together. — John Kasich

I don't understand this thing about [Bashar] Assad. He has to go. Assad is aligned with Iran and Russia. The one thing we want to prevent is we want to prevent Iran being able to extend a Shia crescent all across the Middle East. Assad has got to go. — John Kasich

If I were president, I would want to spend a lot of time going to the legislatures and telling them about best practices, whether it's about fighting poverty, whether it's about educating kids. The states are the laboratories where we can see what works. And I think presidents can have a much better relationship with legislatures. — John Kasich

Frankly, we are republicans and they're democrats but before all of that, we're Americans. And I believe we need to unify in so many ways to rebuild our country, to strengthen our country, to rebuild our defense, and for America to secure it's place it world; for us, for our children, and for the next generation. — John Kasich

Everybody across this country knows that the tsunami of drugs is - is threatening their very families. — John Kasich

I served on the Armed Services Committee for 18 years and we must lead, or the job won't get done, unfortunately, for our country. — John Kasich

The republican party is my vehicle, not my master. — John Kasich

I'm concerned about the fact there seems to be a war on the poor - that if you're poor, somehow you're shiftless and lazy. — John Kasich

I've always been a reformer all the time I served in public office, and remain a reformer in Ohio, but I also know how to get things done. And I think it's important that, while we acknowledge the anxieties that Americans have, I think it's also important we realize at the end of the day, we need to have somebody who knows how to land a plane, and I've landed quite a few planes — John Kasich

We will strengthen our country when we come together. — John Kasich

We need to give everybody a chance, treat everybody with respect, and let them share in this great American dream that we have. — John Kasich

I remember when the Egyptian ambassador to the United States stood in the Rose Garden and pledged Arab commitment to removing Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. — John Kasich

(God) wants America to succeed. And he wants America to lead. — John Kasich

I don't make promises, by and large, that I can't keep. — John Kasich

It's not trickle down economics. The problem that the president has is that he's rudderless on the economy. I mean, he doesn't quite know what to do. It's a wake-up on Monday and try to figure it out. It takes time to turn a supertanker, so you need to know where you need to go. — John Kasich

Their lot in life, their station, became a part of their personalities and helped to for my worldview. — John Kasich

There is a difference between Iraq, where you have Sunni, Shia, and Kurds put together after the First World War by the Western powers. It doesn't work. It needs to break up into three parts. — John Kasich

What people really want to know from their doctor is, are you going to make me feel better? And what they really want to know from a president are, are you going to give me some security when it comes to my work? Because if I'm not working, my family is in trouble. And when I am working, the fact of the matter is, my whole family is doing better. — John Kasich

We've got to unite our country again, because we're stronger when we are united and we are weaker when we are divided. — John Kasich

We have to go massively, like we did in the first Gulf War where we destroyed Saddam's ability to take Kuwait. We need to have a coalition that will stand for nothing less than the total destruction of ISIS and we have to be the leader. — John Kasich

Economic growth is the key to everything. But once you have economic growth, it is important that we reach out to people who live in the shadows, the people who don't seem to ever think that they get a fair deal. And that includes people in our minority community; that includes people who feel as though they don't have a chance to move up. — John Kasich

A leader has a sound program, has a good policy, and then brings people together to solve problems. — John Kasich

For the Russians, frankly, it's time that we punched the Russians in the nose. They've gotten away with too much in this world and we need to stand up against them, not just there, but also in Eastern Europe where they threaten some of our most precious allies. — John Kasich

God created astrologers to make pollsters look accurate. — John Kasich

We've got to listen to other people's voices, respect them, but keep in mind, and I believe in terms of the things that I've read in my lifetime, the Lord is not picking us. But because of how we respect human rights, because that we are a good force in the world, he wants America to be strong. — John Kasich

I am told that the Saudis have organized 34 countries who want to join in the battle against terrorism. — John Kasich

A great power has to have the discipline not only to go when necessary but to know when not to go. Getting involved in ethnic, religious civil wars is a recipe for disaster. — John Kasich

I think we can have some tax reform, but that doesn't mean tax increases. We ought to make the, the rates flatter. We ought to get rid of a bunch of those loopholes. — John Kasich

And you know what? At the end of the day, it gets down to Obama and Romney. And what it's going to get down to is this. Obama is going to say, 'I inherited a mess and I'm making it better.' And Romney is going to say, 'you haven't made it good enough. And I can do far better than you have done.' — John Kasich

The stuff that I propose are things that I'm ready to govern with. They're not tools to get elected. They are programs and plans to do when you get elected. — John Kasich

I said that we needed to have people on the ground, troops on the ground in a coalition similar to what we had in the first Gulf War. — John Kasich

[Donald] Trump is touching a nerve because people want the wall to be built. They want to see an end to illegal immigration. They want to see it, and we all do. But we all have different ways of getting there. — John Kasich

And, frankly, what happens out of Washington is, it creates a wind in my face, uncertainty over Obamacare, uncertainty over their tax policy, uncertainty over the regulatory policy. — John Kasich

I'm a change agent. And what we're beginning to see is a lot of the establish people, one more time, trying to stop me. — John Kasich

In faith, I'm a believer in the do's - you know, love your neighbor, love your enemy. I don't spend a lot of time thinking on the don'ts 'cause I can't get the do's right. — John Kasich

America is a miracle country. — John Kasich

Libya was a terrible mistake. You know, frankly, that's something that people ought to be thinking about in regard to Hillary [Clinton]. You know, they talk about Benghazi, which is very legitimate. Of course it is. But we should never have deposed [Muamar] Gaddafi. That was a terrible mistake. — John Kasich

If somebody wants to sit down with me for an hour and interview me and ask me any question about my record, my policies, my foreign policy experience, my domestic policy experience, I'm willing to do that. — John Kasich

I spent ten years in the private sector, actually learning how business works. I'm the governor of Ohio, and I inherited a state that was on the brink of dying. And we turned it all around with jobs and balanced budgets and rising credit and tax cuts, and the state is unified, and people have hope again in Ohio. — John Kasich

I don't think America should be the policeman of the world, but we have to be engaged and we have to be a leader, and that comes from strong economic growth, a strong military, good diplomatic efforts, and integrating our business community. I just think it's a whole new paradigm. — John Kasich

People are frustrated. They're fed up. They don't think the government is working for them. — John Kasich

When I listen to candidates spend all their time attacking Barack Obama, I'm glad they're not driving this bus because they'd be looking through the rear-view mirror. I look through the windshield at the road ahead. — John Kasich

I'm going to love my daughters; I'm going to love them no matter what they do. Because, you know what, God gives me unconditional love. I'm going to give it to my family and my friends and the people around me. — John Kasich

If we intend to provide a better life, and a better world, for future generations, we can't ignore the quality of the environment we leave them. — John Kasich

If the B2 is invisible, just announce you've built 100 of them and don't build them. — John Kasich

I was the chairman of the House Budget Committee and one of the chief architects the last time we balanced a budget, and it was the first time we had done it since man walked on the moon. We had a $5 trillion surplus and we cut taxes. — John Kasich

You cannot build a little guy up by tearing a big guy down
Abraham Lincoln said it. — John Kasich

I'm not sure I want to sound like a candidate. I just want to sound like an American who's trying to make this country a heck of a lot stronger, not a (typical) politician ... but somebody that's going to go in, do the job, not pay attention to all the special interest groups, change the status quo, shift power out of Washington and get America on the track again with strength in our military as well. — John Kasich

Here is the thing about Donald Trump. Donald Trump is hitting a nerve in this country. — John Kasich

We put up a kind of spiritual firewall and make a conscious effort to shut out the headlines, because our (Bible) discussions are meant to be timeless. — John Kasich

The reason we have such a reform budget is because we've been thinking about these things for a long time. — John Kasich

A president of the United States, again, has to bring people together, have a position. We need to be able to penetrate these people when they are involved in these plots and these plans. And we have to give the local authorities the ability to penetrate to disrupt. That's what we need to do. — John Kasich

I mean, the fact of the matter is, Ohio 's coming back because we set a clear path, we cut taxes, we balanced our budget, we got credit upgrades when the whole rest of the world, including America, was being downgraded. — John Kasich

I'm a believer in bipartisanship. — John Kasich

And no one ever expect me to get in the race. They didn't think I would get on the debate stage. I did. They didn't think I'd do well in New Hampshire. I finished second. And so we went to South Carolina. In a short period of time later, two weeks ago people in South Carolina had no clue who I was. — John Kasich

First and foremost, we need to go and destroy ISIS. And we need to do this with our Arab friends and our friends in Europe. — John Kasich

He (the Bible study leader) is blessed with a light touch and a firm hand. — John Kasich

Say, oh well, the Republicans don't like this therefor I shouldn't do it. What kind of a government would that be. We're not a parliamentary system. — John Kasich

And what we're doing in Ohio is we're moving from a basic manufacturing economy to one that's diversified, including energy and health care and agriculture and IT. — John Kasich

You know where entrepreneurship in my opinion has to go? Into the inner city. — John Kasich

Well, it's not all Americans. But I understand those polls. But as a result of that, that's not going to change my position. I mean I don't think it is even practical and I don't think it's right. I mean just because somebody happens to be of the Muslim faith, doesn't make them a terrorist or make them a threat to America. And we've had relations with people all over the world of the Muslim faith. — John Kasich

I've always been underestimated. It's happened throughout my entire career. — John Kasich

We're now going to develop the standards on transparency, data collection for police, but the whole goal is to fully integrate the police into the community because everybody has the same goals. — John Kasich

Nobody wants anybody who's radical, who wants to move in here to be able to gain access. I said we should take a pause on these Syrian migrants. And I believe we should do that. — John Kasich

I see Hillary [Clinton] as a calculating politician without any vision. It depends what the next thing is that they calculate she needs to say. — John Kasich

I was not in favor of U.S. troops in Lebanon. And I voted against it. — John Kasich

When we give a subsidy, the benefits to the public ought to exceed the benefits to the company. When it doesn't, that's our definition of corporate welfare. — John Kasich

I want to tell you ladies and gentlemen, the actions that we took were not always easy. The actions that we took were not always popular. But when you get yourself in public office, you must lead, you must do what's necessary. — John Kasich

I want people to hear what I think about these foundational American values of personal responsibility, resilience, family and faith, there are things that people can learn from somebody who leads a state like Ohio which is, frankly, a microcosm of the country. — John Kasich

I do not support a civil war. I don't want to be policeman of the world. But we can't back off of this. — John Kasich

Let me just suggest to everybody, and I hear - last February [2015], I said we needed to have people on the ground in a coalition with Europe and our allies. This is not going to get done just by working with the Sunnis. And it is not going to get done if we just embed a few people. — John Kasich

The people of Ohio are the people of America. The people of America are reflected in Ohio.Our message has to be big, and bold, and positive, and connect, not just with people's heads but also connect with their hearts. If we do it, we will beat Hillary Clinton, and we will run the White House, and we will strengthen and fix America. — John Kasich

For heaven's sake, this is 2015. I've run the largest technology company in the world. Let me assure you we know how to build an employer verification system that would work. We can solve this. We just need to do it. — John Kasich

People have accused me at times of having too big of a heart.But I have to also to say I must keep the people of my state safe. So we take a pause [in taking refugees]. — John Kasich

I'm not a big guy that believes that you gain energy from demonizing other people. I think you gain energy from giving people hope. — John Kasich

Formative commendation to the author as an altar boy: "You're the only one we've got to anticipates what's coming. — John Kasich

But, frankly, to try to create some sort of a religious standard in terms of who can come to America, we're a melting pot. And as long as people have positive and good intent, they ought to be able to come. — John Kasich

Everybody should have a chance to rise. That's our philosophy in Ohio and that's my philosophy for America. — John Kasich

So when they don't have certainty, they go the other way. In Ohio, we have given them certainty and things have been improved. But if we can get a Romney presidency, they are going to get much better. — John Kasich

At the end, the Saudis have agreed to put together a coalition inside of Syria to stabilize that country. — John Kasich

Let's think about how we can bring economic development, let's see if people could learn a little more of the rule of law, rather than the rule of man, which is kind of what you see in China. — John Kasich

In addition to an open heart and open mind, I also brought (to the small group Bible study) an open mouth. — John Kasich

I was the chairman of the Budget Committee and the lead architect the last time it happened in Washington, and when we did it we had great economic growth, we cut taxes, and we had a big surplus. — John Kasich

We think about our country and the big issues that we face in this country; creating jobs, making sure people can keep their jobs, the need for rising wages, whether our children when they graduate from college can find a job, protecting the homeland, destroying ISIS, rebuilding defense. These are all the things that we need to focus on but we'll never get there if we're divided. We'll never get there if republicans and democrats just fight with one another. — John Kasich

I worry about America. For the first time in my lifetime, I'm worried about us, i'm worried about how our values to some degree have been eroded, of personal responsibility and compassion and teamwork. I worry about it, I worry about the fact that we're so divided. — John Kasich

Let's start off with my father being a mailman. So I understand the concerns of all the folks across this country, some of whom having trouble, you know, making ends meet. — John Kasich

I was a member of the Armed Services Committee for 18 years. I spent a big chunk of my life studying national security issues and our role in the world. — John Kasich

There are moderates in Syria who we should be supporting. — John Kasich

When Governor Romney was out here, I told him, I said, 'we are following the formula of streamlining regulations, being job creating friendly, balancing budgets, cutting taxes, and, you know, using common sense. And if you get to be president, we are going to do more of that.' — John Kasich

Mitt Romney has a history of being a great job creator. Secondly, he was a great governor. He went from billions of dollars in the hole when he became governor to billions of dollars in surplus when he left. And he went from the loss of tens of thousands jobs when he became governor to the creation of 40,000 new jobs when he left office. — John Kasich

If you go into a room of 100-plus people, and you want to be the prince of darkness, you can be it. But I don't operate in the dark, I operate in the light. — John Kasich

I opposed the U.S. involvement in Lebanon. We ended up having to withdraw our marines after our barracks were blown up. — John Kasich

I can't work any harder. I can't do any more. I am literally just blown away and humbled by the volunteers and how hard they're working. I think they've got a sense that they're going to be part of something bigger than themselves. — John Kasich

You know, since the 6th century, Sunni and Shia have been fighting. — John Kasich

Affirmative action has a negative effect on our society when it means counting us like so many beans and dividing us into separate piles. — John Kasich

I'm an old-fashioned person and I happen to believe in traditional marriage. — John Kasich

My elections are really not about campaigns. I tell my people that these are about a movement. And a movement to do what? To restore common sense. A movement to do things like provide economic growth. And a movement not to let anybody be behind. — John Kasich