Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who withdrew from the Republican presidential primary in May, is blaming the news media for Donald Trump’s lock on the party’s nomination.
In an interview Thursday on MSNBC, Kasich said he and the other former GOP candidates were effectively blacked out by the media because of their “fixation” with the celebrity businessman.
“The media gave him $2 billion worth of free press,” he said. “I mean, I could be having a press conference and they’d have an empty podium with Trump speaking there. … See, I think the elites have let us down in a lot of places. And I think, you know, $2 billion worth of free press — you couldn’t get enough of him.”
Trump, a former reality TV star, has aggressively courted the news media throughout his campaign. He made himself readily available to reporters and TV shows and dominated headlines through steady string of controversial statements.
Meanwhile, his former rivals seemed muted by comparison, unable to compete with a natural showman.
“It was all ratings,” said Kasich. “Who’s kidding who? I call in, you get no ratings. He calls in, you get good ratings. … Was there not a fixation on him by the media, which is changing now?”
