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“The past 24 hours revealed in the clearest way yet that Donald Trump is not prepared to be President," John Kasich says. | Getty Kasich pitches himself to Trump supporters

John Kasich has ratcheted up his criticism of Donald Trump, while also trying to woo the real estate mogul's supporters to his side.

The Ohio governor went on a media blitz Thursday on Trump's home turf, New York City — calling out Trump's comments over the past day about abortion, nuclear weapons, the Geneva Conventions, NATO and Supreme Court nominees, making a plea for Trump voters to trust him instead.

Kasich, who normally speaks without notes, brought them to the podium during a news conference to hammer through a list of controversial comments Trump had made in interviews and campaign appearances as he made his way through Wisconsin ahead of the state's primary next Tuesday.

Trump's statement that women should be punished for having abortions if they become outlawed puts "women in a very difficult position,” Kasich said.

"You wonder about his hand or his thumb getting any[where] close to the critical button that presidents are in charge of," Kasich said about Trump saying that he wouldn't rule out nuclear weapons in Europe and the Middle East.

And when Trump said that a Supreme Court nominee from President Trump would commit to investigating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private email server, Kasich expressed confusion.

"I don’t even know how you do that, that's something I can't figure out," Kasich said.

Kasich, who lags far behind the other two GOP nominees, attempted to paint himself as the alternative for Trump supporters.

"For those people who have been fervent Trump supporters, their frustration, their expressions do not fall on deaf ears to me," Kasich said. He added that "the person that you have favored continues to move in an unmoored, untethered fashion. I understand that at times he's the vessel for your frustration. I want to offer myself as a new vessel that can actually understand your problems, recognize your problems and work to fix them."

And while Kasich refused to say outright that he wouldn't support Trump, he said that if Trump were the nominee, he'd have to think about what his family, particularly his two 16-year-old daughters, thought about an endorsement.

Earlier on Thursday, Kasich's campaign released a strongly worded statement denouncing Trump. “The past 24 hours revealed in the clearest way yet that Donald Trump is not prepared to be President. On top of all his previous inflammatory statements, yesterday he proposed punishing women who receive abortions, attacked the Geneva Conventions and said he’d nominate Supreme Court justices based on who will look into Hillary Clinton’s email scandal," Kasich said in a statement blasted out before the crack of dawn.

Kasich followed up his statement with appearances on ABC and on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

"I mean, it’s like a panoply of mistakes and outrageous statements. You know what it is with Donald? It's just a stream of consciousness," he said on ABC, adding, "we're dealing in such a serious time with the problem of global security, terrorism and here at home very poor economic growth, many feeling as though they've got no future. You can't operate like this. You are going to be president of the United States. People around the world must be having a field day, and you know what Donald ought to be happy about is that Jon Stewart’s not running 'The Daily Show.'"

Trump later walked back his assertion that women who have abortions should face punishment, issuing a statement that his "position has not changed."

"If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman," Trump said in the statement Wednesday.

On Thursday, Kasich declared Trump "not ready" to be commander in chief.

"He talks loosely about the use of nuclear weapons and of dismantling NATO," the governor of Ohio said in his statement. "America is facing major challenges at home and abroad and cannot afford to elect a president who does not respect the seriousness of the office."

During a town hall discussion with MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Wednesday, Trump said, "Look, nuclear should be off the table, but would there be a time when it could be used? Possibly." As far as whether he would use nuclear weapons in Europe, as Matthews pressed him further, Trump added, "I am not — I am not taking cards off the table."

"Since the beginning of the campaign, I have focused on uniting our country and finding solutions to the threats we are facing. I believe you can be a defender of life while respecting women, you can defend our country without alienating our allies and basic human rights, and you win against Hillary Clinton without using outlandish rhetoric," Kasich concluded in his statement. "As president, I will approach every day with the seriousness of purpose our country deserves.”

The statement is only the latest in a series of critical comments Kasich has made about Trump, as the Ohio governor looks to position himself favorably for a contested convention, which at this point is his only chance of becoming the Republican nominee, as it is mathematically impossible for him to accrue the 1,237 delegates necessary to earn the nomination.