CLEVELAND _ You see him here. You see him there. You just don't see Ohio Gov. John Kasich inside the GOP convention hall.
The Republican governor and former primary opponent of Donald Trump has famously taken a pass on appearing at his home state's convention, drawing criticism from Trump's campaign chairman.
But that doesn't mean Kasich isn't around. He's everywhere, speaking to state delegations at hotels, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and at a forum at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The governor of Ohio is holding a virtual shadow convention, just outside the thick security perimeter of downtown Cleveland.
He was literally a few blocks from the convention floor Tuesday afternoon, at a Republican think tank praising globalism, delivering a speech that defended free trade, immigration expansion, cooperation with European allies, supporting emerging democracies around the world.
He did not mention Trump by name. But the speech was a complete repudiation of the man who was set to become the party's nominee just a few hours later.
He described a world very much like the one Trump has often described, with stronger barriers between nations and less U.S. intervention and international trade.
"What does that stew look like?" Kasich asked derisively. "I'm very worried about it.
"We think NATO doesn't matter?" he said at another point, as if holding an imaginary debate with Trump.
He made an oblique reference to the convention when he asked hypothetically if anyone in the room supported the recent vote by Britons to leave the European Union. He did not expect to find any takers, given that the think tank, the International Republican Institute, holds global ties as a core principle.
He poked fun at someone he thought was raising his hand.
"You're happy with 'Brexit'? You sure you're at IRI and not the other one?" he asked.
After delivering his speech, Kasich was quickly ushered out of the room, with handlers warning reporters to stay away and refrain from asking questions, which Kasich would not answer.
