It would be "out of bounds" for President Donald Trump to have used his power to pardon former Sheriff Joe Arpaio as a "political wedge," Gov. John Kasich said Sunday.
In an interview with NBC News' "Meet The Press," the Ohio Republican lashed out at the controversial move.
"It … absolutely should be out of bounds for somebody to use that as some sort of a political wedge," he said. "It appears as though that's what it was. "
"It's not the way I operate here with the power to be able to give people second chance, but the president has that power," he added.
Kasich also urged the political discussion move to "figure out what institutions we're a part of from the bottom up that can bring some unity in this country."
"We don't have to keep looking to Washington," he said. "Everybody focuses on Washington. What about everything else happening in this country, whether it's gouging profits by businesses or whether it's putting sports figures on the field who did improper things or whether it's the clergy that does things that are out of bounds.
"Nobody is looking for sainthood, but the whole country needs to come together and stop looking at Washington. Figure out what you can do as part of your entity to race the country and bring some unity."
Kasich again shot down speculation he's considering a presidential bid with Colorado’s Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper by leaving the GOP to form a unity party.
"Kasich Hickenlooper — first of all, you couldn't pronounce it and secondly, you couldn't fit it on a bumper sticker," he joked, adding: "The answer is no."
Kasich and Hickenlooper have appeared together to urge Congress to adopt a bipartisan approach to healthcare legislation, and their staffs have been working on trying to come up with a bipartisan proposal to improve the nation’s health insurance exchanges.