Kasich on Trump rape story: ‘Just leave it alone’

Republican presidential hopeful Gov. John Kasich repeatedly refused to address a reported rape allegation against Donald Trump by his former wife, saying “the nature of the beast ought to change” if presidential media coverage includes digging into “painful” personal issues.

“Obviously it’s a painful story for him, his family and his former wife. Just leave it alone, just let him go, just talk about his policies on something else,” Kasich said on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.”

{mosads}When Blitzer suggested to Kasich that the question is fair because of Trump’s status as the party’s top-polling presidential candidate, the Ohio governor said he disagreed.

“Maybe the nature of the beast ought to change a little bit, there are limits,” he said.

“I’m sure its extremely painful for him, for his former wife, for his kids, that shouldn’t be what we are doing in this business.”

A story in The Daily Beast highlighted how Trump’s ex-wife, Ivana, once accused him of rape in a deposition during their divorce. On Tuesday, she walked that accusation back in a statement to CNN.

Blitzer also couldn’t get Kasich to comment Tuesday on fellow GOP presidential rival and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s controversial comments that the Iran nuclear deal leading Israel to the “ovens,” an overt Holocaust reference that’s been widely criticized.

Kasich did slam the Iran deal as “the wrong deal at the wrong time with the wrong country” and said that Democrats have to step up to vote against their president.

“What I think we are going to see is we are going to see Iran get a nuclear weapon and have loads of cash to be able to fund all of our adversaries and the adversaries of our allies in the Middle East,” he said.

“I think it’s a very bad deal.”