In what could be seen as a touching reminder that the warm, mind-numbing embrace of pop culture detritus extends to all, regardless of political affiliation, Ohio governor John Kasich hopped on The View this week to lay out his useless trivia bona fides. Specifically—and to the delight of the show’s hosts—Kasich gave a surprisingly detailed breakdown of the ongoing Taylor Swift-Katy Perry feud, which even now threatens to overwhelm the pop culture world in waves of meaningless conflict.
Kasich is apparently friends with Swift, actually, although he was careful to keep himself in a politically neutral position on the conflict, offering up praise of Perry as well. He also discussed Swift’s new sound, and uttered what may be the very first instance of a Republican governor saying the word “Zayn” on national TV.
Unfortunately, the clip—in which Kasich praises pop culture’s ability to block out the less overtly stupid parts of the world—ends on something of a downer note. The governor mentions that his trip to Rock On The Range last week was dampened by the absence of Soundgarden, thanks to the death of singer Chris Cornell. Kasich attributed Cornell’s death to “drugs,” which seems like a needlessly reductive way to talk about a complex situation, but, then, that’s politics for you.