John Kasich has a simple explanation for the emotional moments he’s faced on the campaign trail, “People are lonely.”
Appearing on CNN’s “New Day” on Friday, Kasich talked about a moving interaction he had with a voter at a town hall a day earlier that’s since gone viral, where Kasich hugged and whispered encouragement to a young man in the audience who had opened up about challenges in his personal life.
Discussing the moment with host Chris Cuomo, Kasich explained, “I’ve become convinced that there’s a lot of people out across our country who are lonely.”
“It has not been unusual for me to see,” Kasich added. The Ohio governor listed his experiences with other voters who have had similar moments of vulnerability, including a woman suffering from epilepsy, and another who is battling alcoholism.
Kasich also discussed comforting the young man at CNN’s Republican town hall Thursday night.
“There are a lot of people out there who are lonely, and they’re looking for a place to tell people about their issues. I mean, could you believe that — that young man?”
Speaking at the event Thursday, Kasich observed, “Anderson, I’ve seen it everywhere. It’s one of the reasons why — you know, I love to talk about the conservative economic policies, but one of the things that I felt, and I’ve said in the campaign, is we all need to slow down a little bit.”