Husted, a Republican candidate for governor, praised Trump for job performance

By David Skolnick | May 18, 2017 at 12:09a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, praised Donald Trump for the job he’s doing as president.

“He’s done a lot of good things on regulatory relief that has created a better environment for manufacturing jobs,” Husted said of Trump to The Vindicator during a Wednesday stop at the Mahoning County Board of Elections. “I would also say I’m impressed” with “his appointment to the Supreme Court. He picked an all-star in [Justice Neil] Gorsuch. Those are things that are fulfilling what he said he would do and why people like me voted for him.”

Husted said Trump is “adjusting to public life and the challenges of living under a microscope and having people parse and evaluate every word or phrase or tweet he’s involved in. Hopefully he will continue to evolve as a leader and set aside some of the things that are tripping him up and focus on more of the things he’s done successfully.”

Husted didn’t discuss the “things that are tripping” up Trump.

Asked if Trump should spend less time on Twitter, Husted didn’t directly answer.

“The one piece of advice I have for any public leader is make sure that the job you’re doing is about the people you’re supposed to serve and make the job less about you,” he said.

When asked about an investigation into Trump’s campaign ties to Russia and the president asking former FBI Director James Comey to abandon the bureau’s probe into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Husted said, “We should be willing to investigate it and find out what all the facts are and let the facts lead us to our conclusion.”

Husted added, “We shouldn’t convict or exonerate anyone until we have all the facts.”

Husted, serving his second four-year term as secretary of state, is among three announced Republican candidates for governor in 2018. The others are Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci. Also, Attorney General Mike DeWine is running for governor but hasn’t formally announced his candidacy.