Why John Kasich is actually a secret millennial

“As somebody said, ‘you’re really a millennial in an older man’s body,’” Kasich told reporters on Wednesday.

The Ohio governor still comes off as an unhip uncle when he tries to reach out (“Let’s snap. Let’s do a Snapchat when we’re done here,” he told students), but maybe he is a secret millennial. It’s all there in previous comments.

He wants to reunite Pink Floyd

The first inklings of his loyalties appeared in February when he spoke with CNN about music.

“Roger Waters is a remarkable artist,” Kasich said. “I saw The Wall in Pittsburgh; it was absolutely incredible… If I’m president, I am going to once and for all try to reunite Pink Floyd to come together and play a couple of songs.”

That pitch could attract hippies feeling the Bern for Sanders, or jaded Rand Paul supporters who lack a clear candidate among Republicans.

He tried to get on stage to jam with the Grateful Dead

 Showing his narcissistic tendencies, Kasich tried to use his political connections to jam with the Grateful Dead at a 1991 concert in Washington, D.C., according to The Washington Post:

The Grateful Dead was playing RFK Stadium. Kasich had a backstage pass through Dwight Yoakam, the opener, and was onstage during Yoakam’s set. When Kasich tried to use his credentials to rejoin the spectating entourage on stage as the Dead played, he was blocked by the tour manager. Kasich pulled the “don’t you know who I am?” card, according to a witness interviewed by Post reporter Lois Romano, and said he could prevent the Dead from ever playing Washington again.

When a police officer pulled him over, he called the cop an idiot

 Speaking with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency staffers in 2011, he recalled a traffic encounter, according to the Columbus Dispatch:

Police officers were not amused.

He’s a foodie

 On the campaign trail last week in the Bronx, the “Slavic Jabroni” couldn’t stop eating.

A cautious baby boomer running for president might eat light. John Kasich, secret millennial, disregarded any possible advice from staffers about moderation.

Nor would he let anyone, even the restaurant owners, stop him.

If Kasich wins the election, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner will become the White House Eating Contest.

He wants to bail out millennials from student debt

In his 2015 Ohio state of the state speech, Kasich spoke of the struggles millennials face in gaining a solid economic foundation in the 20s.

“Another critical part of our economic revival is education. Our colleges and universities understand this, and I’ve got to tell you, they have been heroic,” he said. “We need to make sure we give hope to people who think they are stuck.” Kasich wanted to use “$120 million in this student debt relief fund” to help students struggling with loans. As this writer previously wrote, Kasich’s plans for higher education have been modest, but commendable. He’s made efforts to shift college funding to focus on outcomes, not the number of students a university enrolls, and that’s attracted some young voters to his campaign. It’s not exactly an inspiring platform, but he’s tried to reach out to the roughly 34 percent of millennials who hold a college degree.

“Ol’ Hand-Paddles” is out of step with millennials with his foreign policy, but if he uses more confetti, he might get a boost from the youth.