Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Sunday that he had “great respect” for Hispanics, after a comment that he gave last week about a hotel maid worker was criticized.
Some had criticized Kasich’s anecdote last week about an interaction with his Hispanic hotel worker.
“This lady wrote me in my hotel there in L.A. She wrote this note. It said, ‘I really want you to know that I care about your stay.’ Is that just the greatest thing?” Kasich said at a luncheon Thursday. “So, you know, we can learn a lot and she’s Hispanic, ’cause I didn’t know it at the time, but I met her in the hallway, asked her if I could get a little more soap.”
Kasich commented on the situation during his Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“If I have to be clear about it, I’m just trying to say in the course of a presidential campaign I’m glad I don’t move so fast that I ignore people. And my views on our Hispanic friends across this country have been very positive,” Kasich said.
“They are impactful in so many ways. As you know my plan on immigration is intended to keep families together and give them a good place in American society,” he continued. “If somebody needs me to clarify that, that’s fine. I have great respect for them. I think they’re an important fabric of America.”
