Kasich on Obama, Trump: ‘Meet the new boss; same as the old boss’

John Kasich wants people to take a chill pill when it comes to the 2020 election.

Kasich is the Republican former governor of Ohio and 2016 presidential candidate who’s frequently critical of Donald Trump, the man who ultimately got that job. Speaking at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Thursday, Kasich argued that real change comes from the bottom up, rather than the top down, and urged people to stop “hyperventilating” about the election.

“Meet the new boss; same as the old boss,” Kasich said, referring to the famous song by The Who, “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

“I’m not saying that the election of a president doesn’t matter. But if you think about Donald Trump today or Barack Obama, has it affected your life?” Kasich asked.

“I suppose if you’re a CEO and they put tariffs on, it affects you,” Kasich said. “The mood is definitely affected, but on a day-to-day basis, regardless of all the philosophy and actions, most of them haven’t happened. They’ve been blocked by the courts and blocked by the Congress.”

Environmental justice groups, LGBTQ organizations and immigrant rights groups largely feel differently, however.

Another 2016 GOP presidential contender, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, also spoke at the conference Thursday.

Kasich has flirted with another presidential candidacy in 2020, but made it appear unlikely on Thursday, reportedly saying, “There’s no path for me right now.”

Still, Kasich did take some opportunity to knock Trump while on the stage, noting that he doesn’t care for many of the president’s policies.

“It doesn’t make me happy to be critical,” Kasich said. “It didn’t make me happy not to go to the convention [in Cleveland], it didn’t make me happy not to endorse him.

The former governor noted that it was different than in 2008 when he was “glad I endorsed John McCain.”