METAIRIE, LA (AP) — Ohio Gov. John Kasich said that as president he could bring state and federal regulators up and down the Mississippi River together to work with farm interests on reducing pollution in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Republican presidential hopeful was answering questions Wednesday in a New Orleans suburb when he was asked about fertilizer runoff in the Mississippi that leads to harmful algae blooms in the Gulf. He said he faced a similar problem with pollution in Lake Erie when he brought environmentalists and farmers together to work out a compromise to control fertilizer runoff.
Kasich — trailing front-runner Donald Trump and Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz — visited Metairie, LA and Gulfport, MS, during a campaign swing ahead of March primaries in both states.
The governor and former congressman stuck mostly to conservative themes. He spoke next to a constantly changing digital display of the $19 trillion national debt and saying the budget can be controlled with spending cuts, deregulation and tax cuts.
But, citing the Lake Erie issue, he said that as chief executive he could pressure people to reach compromises.
"If I were president of the United States, Apple and the intelligence community would be sitting in an office. And I would have sandwiches shipped in," he said, referring to a disagreement between the tech giant and the FBI over the federal agency's demand for help cracking an encrypted iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters.
Louisiana's presidential primary is March 5. Mississippi's is March 8.
– by AP Reporter Kevin McGill
