Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Friday it is time to "move on" from President Trump's controversial "shithole countries" remark.

"Look, I'll be honest with you, I understand ratings, newspaper clicks, hits, ratings in television, OK? Everybody's had their say," Kasich told CNN's Jake Tapper.

"Hopefully we'll see some more out of Republicans. Maybe the president will say something, apologize or whatever. We've got to move on. We have big issues out there," Kasich continued, adding that he would prefer to shift political focus to immigration or government spending.

Kasich walked back some of his comments when Tapper expressed offense at the governor's targeting of the media.

"Look, I'm not saying you're doing this for ratings. I'm saying at some point we've got to move on because we have some big things," he responded.

But Kasich reiterated that Trump owed an apology to the people who lived in the nations he insulted.

"You don't have to be, you know, viciously attacking him or personally attacking him, but these comments are inappropriate," Kasich said. "And, frankly, the party ought to say it's inappropriate. So what? Frankly, he ought to apologize for it."

Trump sparked outraged on Thursday when it was reported that he had made some offensive comments about foreign nations, including a reference to "shithole countries."