By Henry J. Gomez, updated February 22, 2017

President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Friday at the White House with Ohio Gov. John Kasich -- but neither is admitting to seeking the other's company.

After CNN broke news of the unexpected visit Monday night, a source close to Kasich told cleveland.com that the Trump administration had summoned the governor.

And in a response to a Twitter user's question about the meeting, Kasich political adviser John Weaver replied that Kasich agreed to go "because the president asked."

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But that was not the story White House press secretary Sean Spicer offered reporters Tuesday. Spicer said Kasich "has reached out on multiple occasions to meet with the president." When pressed on whether the Friday sit-down was Kasich's idea, Spicer replied: "Yes."

Weaver returned to Twitter after Spicer's briefing to dispute the characterization.

Kasich, Weaver wrote, "respects office of the President & is happy to meet with Trump at the president's repeated requests." He closed with a "#TwoPaths" hashtag -- a reference to a Kasich mantra that emphasizes the differences the governor has with the president.

The conflicting stories add another wrinkle to what has hardly been a cordial relationship between Trump and Kasich, rivals in last year's Republican presidential primaries.

Kasich kept his distance during last year's Republican National Convention in Cleveland, despite being the host governor. He refused to endorse Trump and instead voted for Arizona Sen. John McCain. And he has repeatedly criticized Trump's divisive policies and tone. His forthcoming book and a political organization launched by Weaver and other allies are expected to reinforce the contrast and fuel speculation that Kasich could challenge Trump in 2020.

Spicer, at his televised briefing, described the meeting as an opportunity to find common ground. Trump, he said, "has shown through the transition and since his time in office that he wants to meet with anybody that can help move this country forward and share in his vision.

"I think that includes people who are with him, who are not with him, who are on the other side of the aisle, who are independents, union workers, business leaders," Spicer continued.

"Now that he is president ... he understands that he's the president for every American, and he's talked consistently about having a united country. And you do that by bringing people together, whether or not they agree with you on every issue or one or two issues. But if there's common ground that can be found to move the country forward, then great. And I think so many of the president's priority issues are issues that Ohio is dealing with and that he wants to make sure he can continue to work with Governor Kasich so that every American benefits."

http://www.cleveland.com/politics/index....mp_will_me.html
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So the media wants to know is *who* requested this meeting? "Who blinked?" CNN headlined. It was a huge stand-off. Who needed who?, is the question that answers this. The days of Trump needing Kasich are largely past. Trump won Ohio *by a 9-point margin* without Kasich support. Shame on Kasich! But IF Donald Trump is the one who reached out to that loser, it shows what a magnanimous winner he really is. Kasich would be wise to fess up that he called for it. Kasiich wants and needs this meeting and he continues to be a petulant baby by allowing this controversy to brew. How petulant is Kasich? He couldn't find it in himself to open the Republican National Committee even though it was being held in his State. Trump brought in over 1 million new Republican voters. Think about that! TM

"It's All About ME!" Gov. Kasich. Here are his words on supporting the R nominee. His word means little... TM
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BAIER: Governor Kasich, yes or no, would you support Donald Trump as the Republican nominee?

KASICH: Yeah. But -- and I kind of think that, before it's all said and done, I'll be the nominee. But let me also say...

(APPLAUSE)

But let me also say, remember...

BAIER: But your answer is yes?

KASICH: But I'm the little engine that can. And, yeah, look, when you're in the arena, and we're in the arena. And the people out here watching -- we're in the arena, we're traveling, we're working, we spend time away from our family, when you're in the arena, you enter a special circle. And you want to respect the people that you're in the arena with. So if he ends up as the nominee -- sometimes, he makes it a little bit hard -- but, you know, I will support whoever is the Republican nominee for president.