SALEM, N.H. -- At a town hall meeting on Thursday night, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) said that he has acquired information related to terrorism that he is not at liberty to share publicly.
“Do you know that I actually talk to security people?” the Republican presidential candidate said in response to a question about his views on gun control in the wake of this week’s mass shooting in California. “And I’ve got to be careful what I say because I have some information now because of my job as governor that I just can’t get into. There’s stuff. I don’t want to go too far.”
Kasich said that it has become “increasingly difficult for law enforcement to hear the conversations and the plots” of terrorists, and that this deficiency has hampered their ability to prevent attacks.
In a more direct response to the initial question about gun control, Kasich said that Americans should be allowed to own guns to protect themselves and their families.
He added that he was certain that the attack in California was an act of terrorism and not the result of a workplace dispute.
“The FBI hasn’t said it, but I’m convinced it was a terrorist attack -- that these people were inspired by ISIS, that they planned this over a long period of time and this was not about a disgruntled worker, in my opinion,” Kasich said, referring to the Islamic State group. “This was something that was planned inspired by ISIS, probably not directed, but inspired.”
After the event’s conclusion, Kasich was asked by reporters to elaborate on his comment about possessing “some information” on terrorism that he has acquired from his position as governor.
Instead of elaborating, however, the Ohio governor turned increasingly cryptic.
“Well, I think, you know, there’s stuff that’s coming out in the media and things that I hear,” Kasich said.
Asked by HuffPost whether the "things" he has heard had come through official channels, Kasich appeared to backtrack.
“No, I’m just saying to you that people that are in law enforcement, you know, they have views, and I listen a lot to what they have to say,” he said. “And my understanding is this is something that was in the works and being planned for a period of a time.”