Top Donald Trump aide Paul Manafort kicked off the opening day of the Republican National Convention on Monday by taking shots at sitting Gov. John Kasich, which drew boos and groans of disapproval from the audience.
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Trump’s convention czar said Kasich, a former 2016 GOP candidate, is “making a big mistake” by not attending the convention in his home state.
“He is looking at something that is not going to happen. He is hurting his state. He is embarrassing his state, frankly,” Manafort said. At those remarks, members of the live audience in Cleveland could be heard booing and groaning.
Co-host Mika Brzezinski observed later in the broadcast that Manafort’s criticism “got a lot of boos from our audience.” An NBC News journalist reported the audience was largely made up of Ohioans.
The dig quickly gained traction among Ohio Republicans. On Twitter, the chairman of the state GOP wrote Ohio “loves our governor” and Manafort “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Manafort still has a lot to learn about Ohio politics. Doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Hope he can do better. https://t.co/3i6gBg2ZXD
— Matt Borges (@ChairmanBorges) July 18, 2016
Ohio loves our governor. He turned this state around and united Ohioans. No wonder he has a 60% approval rating.
— Matt Borges (@ChairmanBorges) July 18, 2016
A Kasich spokesman said the state “couldn’t be more proud” of Kasich.
.@JohnKasich has near record approval ratings in Ohio and among Republicans. The state couldn’t be more proud.
— chris schrimpf (@chrisschrimpf) July 18, 2016
Watch Manafort’s remarks via MSNBC:
Paul Manafort: John Kasich is making a big mistake, he’s embarrassing his state https://t.co/lt5dFEH2q0
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) July 18, 2016
