Kicking off a weekend of visits from presidential hopefuls, Ohio governor John Kasich hosted town-hall meetings at two university campuses in Utah.
Kasich spoke at Utah Valley University in Orem and in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah Friday afternoon. Speaking to the crowd at UVU, he pushed a strong message for fiscal responsibility. He cited his own experience balancing the national budget under Bill Clinton’s administration and said the federal government should cut taxes and regulations for small businesses.
Kasich also praised the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its welfare programs. He said he was impressed with his visit to Welfare Square and the Bishop’s Storehouse last year.
“I’ve talked about Welfare Square,” he said. “I’ve talked about individuals trying to help other individuals get on their feet. With the great tradition that it is a sin not to help somebody who needs help, but it’s equally a sin to continue to help somebody who needs to learn how to help themselves. And I think you bring the best of that philosophy.”
Kasich also shared his vision for dealing with ISIS.
“The Arabs and the West fighting together, both in the air and on the ground and destroy ISIS and then, once it settles down, I’m for coming home,” Kasich said to applause. “I don’t want to rebuild any of those countries.”
When asked why he doesn’t drop out of the race to make way for Ted Cruz, Kasich said he believes the Republicans will end up having a brokered convention, where he’ll win support of the majority of delegates.
In addition to town halls at UVU and the University of Utah, Kasich will host events at Davis High School Friday evening and in St. George Saturday afternoon.
