John Kasich opened CNN’s South Carolina Republican town hall Thursday night by reflecting on the frenetic pace of presidential politics and noting how important it is to “slow down” and listen to people in need.
“We’ve got to slow down,” the Ohio governor told moderator Anderson Cooper. “You’ve got to celebrate other people’s wins, and sometimes you’ve got to sit with them and cry.”
At a forum in Clemson earlier on Thursday, a tearful young man confessed to Kasich that after suffering personal losses, he had gone through a very dark period in life. Now, he had found hope in the message that Kasich was taking to voters, the man told Kasich, prompting the governor to hug the man.
“There are a lot of people out there who are lonely,” Kasich said at CNN’s town hall. “Could you believe that young man?”
Kasich is coming off a strong second-place showing in New Hampshire last week, but with his moderate message, there is little expectation that he will have a strong performance here during Saturday’s GOP primary.
After Kasich, Jeb Bush and Donald Trump will have their turn in the prime-time event.
The event comes the same day that comments from Pope Francis jolted the 2016 race. The Pope said the GOP front-runner is “not Christian” if he wants to deport undocumented immigrants and build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Asked to weigh in on the Pope’s comments, Kasich simply said he was “pro-Pope.”
“This man has brought more sense of hope and more about the dos in life than the don’ts,” Kasich said. “This guy has been so humble.”
Trump fired back at the Pope earlier Thursday during a rally at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, calling the his statement “disgraceful.”
Trump also is feuding intensely with his GOP rivals in recent weeks. He has accused Ted Cruz of lying about his record and gone after Bush by insulting the legacy of his brother, former President George W. Bush.
Bush is campaigning hard for a strong showing in this state, bringing both his brother and mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, out on the campaign trail this week. But the former Florida governor, who is a practicing Catholic, didn’t seize on the Pope’s comments Thursday to criticize Trump.
“I think the Pope said he might not be Christian,” Bush told CNN’s Dana Bash. “I think his Christianity is between (him) and his creator. I don’t think we need to discuss that.”
The town hall comes as Trump continues to hold a sizable lead in South Carolina. A new CNN/ORC poll released this week had the real-estate mogul on top at 38%, followed by Cruz at 22%, Marco Rubio at 14% and Jeb Bush at 10%. Ben Carson and Kasich were at the bottom of the pack, at 6% and 4%, respectively.
Cruz, Rubio and Carson participated in CNN’s first South Carolina town hall Wednesday in Greenville.
At that event, Rubio once again accused Cruz of spreading inaccurate information about his record. Cruz shrugged off being called a liar by both Rubio and Trump, saying: “Both Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are following this pattern — that whenever anyone points to their actual record … they start screaming liar, liar, liar.”