Donald Trump officially added John Kasich to his list of “no-action, all-talk politicians” Friday afternoon, hitting the Ohio governor harder than usual in his first attack ad against him.
The 30-second spot, first tweeted out by Trump, will air throughout the Buckeye State, according to the Trump campaign. The ad comes just days before Ohio’s primary on Tuesday and claims Kasich “helped Wall Street predator Lehman Brothers destroy the world economy” and criticizes the Ohio governor for spending time in states other than his own.
Kasich joined Lehman’s investment banking division as managing director in 2001, working there until the firm’s collapse in September 2008, which unleashed global panic and served as a catalyst for the financial crisis.
Referring to Kasich’s campaign as a “failing presidential bid,” the ad also makes the claim that Kasich “gave Ohio Obamacare,” a reference to his decision to expand Medicaid.
The ad also comes after Trump, who once said he would not release attack ads, released two ads going after Marco Rubio earlier this week.
Trump has avoided exchanging jabs with Kasich on the campaign trail, but has added “absentee governor” to his repertoire lately when talking about the Ohio governor. But as a recent Fox News poll shows Kasich with a 5-point lead in Ohio, Trump is changing his approach.
A CNN Poll of Polls analysis of three recent Ohio Republican primary polls shows Trump with a 2-percentage-point lead over Kasich.
When asked for response, Kasich campaign spokesperson Chris Schrimpf told CNN, “Unlike Donald Trump, who has shipped American jobs overseas, the people of Ohio know Governor Kasich is helping bring jobs from China and Mexico back to Ohio. That’s why Ohio has added more than 400,000 jobs since John Kasich became governor.”
Schrimpf adds that he expected the attacks to get “more and more desperate” but plans to stay positive, saying the attacks are a clear sign Kasich is gaining momentum.
Just hours before the ad’s release, Trump told reporters at a press conference that he thinks he’ll beat Kasich in Ohio, and echoed the same attacks against Kasich for not spending time in Ohio, which holds its primary on Tuesday.
