The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website August 24, 2018:
ANALYSIS | President Donald Trump’s week was dominated by one plea deal, one conviction and two immunity protections for some of his closest former confidantes and aides. The fallout raised questions about the Republican Party, making it fitting he ended the week at the epicenter of the GOP’s simmering civil war.
Many senior prominent Ohio Republicans were present in Columbus on Friday evening as the president addressed a party dinner and headlined a fundraiser earlier. Sen. Rob Portman greeted Trump at the airport, for instance. But the leader of the Buckeye State GOP did not. Nor did Gov. John Kasich make it in time for the fundraiser. And he skipped Trump’s dinner remarks.
“I disagree with the president’s policies,” Kasich said Tuesday, adding that he was taking one of his children to college Friday but making his differences with Trump crystal clear: “You’ve never seen me getting into a vicious attack on his personality. I don’t like his leadership style. That’s pretty darn clear and I speak out because I think it’s really important we become a nation of uniters.”