John Kasich explodes at the GOP debate, suggests Trump is a 'fantasy'

Gov. John Kasich, Mike Huckabee, and Jeb Bush.
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Ohio Gov. John Kasich had harsh words for Republican frontrunners Donald Trump and Ben Carson during CNBC's GOP presidential debate, calling their ideas "fantasy" and saying the country cannot elect somebody who "doesn't know how to do the job."

Kasich said he was the only person on stage involved in balancing the federal budget, and the "empty promises" of some candidates would leave the U.S. "trillions and trillions" of dollars in debt. "I have a plan that would create jobs, cut taxes, balance the budget, and get it done because I'm a realist," he said. "Why don't we just give a chicken in every pot while coming up with these fantasy tax games?" Kasich added that when he became governor, Ohio was in an "$8 billion hole, and now we have a $2 billion surplus, we're up 347,000 jobs."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.