Kasich: ‘I basically watch the Golf Channel when I’m traveling, believe it or not’

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President Obama, John Kasich and John Boehner are seen on the first green at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., June 18, 2011. (Photo: Charles Dharapak/AP)

When he’s not appearing on television, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump is known to be an insatiable consumer of cable news, often tweeting about the coverage of his campaign while he’s watching on the trail.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich? Not so much.

“I don’t watch the news,” Kasich told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “I basically watch the Golf Channel when I’m traveling, believe it or not.”

But the GOP hopeful said he caught the coverage of the chaos ahead of Trump’s planned rally in Chicago on Friday.

“I mean, I really don’t watch Trump rallies,” Kasich said. “But when I saw the violence in Chicago, I just had enough.”

The Ohio governor blamed the real estate mogul for helping to incite the violence.

“There’s no question that Donald Trump has created a toxic atmosphere,” he said. “Now, I think there are people that would go to a rally who would look to disrupt, but look, the environment is there, and he needs to back off of this and start being more aspirational, telling people we can get it together.”

Kasich is an avid golfer. In 2011, he even played a round of golf with President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner.

Meanwhile, it seems Trump was watching Kasich on CNN.


Trump likes watching golf too, particularly at his own resort.

Last week, the candidate — now atop the GOP leaderboard — stopped by the Trump National Blue Monster course in Doral, Fla., before the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship. While there, he met with several players, including Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.

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Trump speaks to NBC’s Golf Channel during the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship on Sunday in Doral, Fla. (Photo: Luis Alvarez/AP)

He even sat down for an interview with Kasich’s preferred television network.

Two days later, Trump spoke about the tournament during his primary-night victory speech.

“I was watching Adam Scott hit that last great shot,” Trump said. “And I went back and I was watching the news. And every single advertisement was about me. And it was during my tournament.”

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Trump speaks with Dustin Johnson before the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship at the Trump National Doral golf course. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)