Kasich: Trump needs to apologize to Obama over birther smear

Ohio governor and former Republican presidential contender John Kasich admitted on Sunday morning that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump owes President Barack Obama an apology for questioning his citizenship.

Appearing on NBC's Meet The Press, Kasich was asked if Trump was out of line by promoting the birther conspiracy for years and should he apologize, reports The Hill.

"You know, yeah," the Ohio Republican replied before launching into a soliloquy on the toxic nature of politics in the U.S.

According to Kaisch, the birther issue is the result of a "growing division and anger" between voters who have no respect for differing political philosophies.

"That's what we ought to be alarmed by. There was tremendous hatred being directed at George W. Bush, you know, that he needed to be impeached and all these insane things," Kasich remarked. "And that same anger has moved on to Barack Obama. And it's going to move on to whoever should win this election. We ought to be alarmed with the drift in this country away from what's best for our nation and not what's best for me as I, you know, vent my anger or frustration."

"I mean, we have to be in a position of where we recognize people's problems and work to solve them," he continued. "And so I see this issue as one of a whole number of issues where people are saying, 'I'm in my silo. Don't bother me.' And it's not good for their children or for our nation."

Despite all of that, Kasich said Sunday morning that he would not be voting for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and that he was not any closer to voting for Trump.

"I'm not closer. I mean, there's too much water under the bridge," Kasich said. "It's very, very likely I will not."