Kasich on immigration order: 'What is America doing?'

Chrissie Thompson | The Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption 'No hate, no fear': Protests continue nationwide For the second day in a row after President Trump signed an executive order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations, protesters gathered by the hundreds and flooded their local airports.

CINCINNATI — Calling President Trump's immigration order "ham-handed," Ohio Gov. John Kasich is complaining it "sent a message that somehow the United States was looking sideways at Muslims."

The governor spoke Sunday in an interview with The Washington Post.

"In probably many Arab capitals today, people are like, 'What is America doing?' " said Kasich, who opposed Trump in the GOP primary last year and then refused to endorse him or vote for him.

Still, Kasich said he blamed Trump's staff more than the president himself for the order issued Friday, one week into Trump's presidency. The action temporarily bans immigration into the U.S. by citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries and temporarily stops the entry of all refugees. Protests erupted around the country over the weekend, and a federal judge issued an emergency stay for people in transit to the U.S. or who have arrived at U.S. airports.

Trump's staffers should have urged caution, Kasich said. "Sometimes an administration has to get its sea legs and figure out how to function," he said, shrugging off suggestions that a Republican such as himself might challenge Trump in 2020.

Since Trump's election in November, Kasich has backed off criticizing the president by name, but he has continued to stand against Trump's anti-trade and isolationist policies. His interview with The Post marked his most blunt comments about Trump since the inauguration this month.

Initially, Kasich waited until Sunday afternoon to weigh in on Trump's executive order, after many national Republican leaders had commented. His Twitter account featured a measured response, calling for a "more thoughtful approach consistent with our values."

The President's EO should be replaced with a more thoughtful approach consistent with our values. pic.twitter.com/ASPHmVH5jQ — John Kasich (@JohnKasich) January 29, 2017

It's unclear whether Kasich disagrees with Trump's entire executive order or only with portions of it. In 2015, after the terror attacks in Paris, Kasich asked then-President Obama to stop bringing Syrian refugees to the United States and Ohio, citing security and safety issues.

All of Ohio's top elected officials have raised concerns about the executive order. Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, said the order was "not properly vetted."

"I think we should slow down," he told CNN on Sunday.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, said targeting refugees fleeing terrorists is "wrong, will not make America safer, and may actually undermine our long-term security.”

Follow Chrissie Thompson on Twitter: @CThompsonENQ

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