Kasich gives Trump ‘incomplete,’ keeps options open for 2020

Ohio Gov. John Kasich participated in a town hall session Monday night in New York.

Credit: Mark Wilson

Credit: Mark Wilson

Ohio Gov. John Kasich participated in a town hall session Monday night in New York.

During a town hall meeting in New York moderated by CNN, Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Monday that he would grade President Donald Trump's performance as an "incomplete."

“It's not even a 100 days, so you have to give the guy a chance,” Kasich said to CNN's Anderson Cooper. "He's never held public office before.”

Kasich, whose book "Two Paths: America Divided or United" hits stores Tuesday, said it was "very unlikely" he would run for president in 2020. But when pressed by Anderson, the former presidential candidate said he would keep his options open.

“How do you close the door on anything?” he said. “If I see something I need to do to help my country, that I really believe that I have to do, then I would think I would probably do it.”

Anderson cited a Washington Post-ABC news poll that showed 94 percent of Trump voters approve of his job performance, while only 42 percent of all Americans feel the same way. Kasich said the divide was “symptomatic.”

“‘I voted for him. I wear that uniform.’ — ‘I didn't vote for him. I wear a different uniform.’ I think people who voted for him, who see things they don't like, have to recognize that,” Kasich said. “And people who didn't vote for him have to recognize when he does something that's positive.

“We want to be for our president, because if we are tearing each other apart, nothing will ever get done.”