Charles and David Koch are officially sitting on their wallets when it comes to the candidacy of one Donald J. Trump, reports Fox News, with Charles Koch telling a gathering of conservative elites Saturday in Colorado that “We don’t really, in some cases, don’t really have good options” in the “current political situation”. The Koch network has avoided supporting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign so far. We have to have an aligned candidate from a values and beliefs and policy perspective.
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But Koch Industries chief executive Charles Koch has refused to budge, repeatedly expressing his dismay with Mr Trump’s tone and policy positions.
“We are safer (now)”, he said. Yet his aides announced this week that they would not fund anti-Clinton ads, solidifying their reluctance to play presidential politics in 2016.
Later, in a closed session for donors in one of the Broadmoor resort’s rose-colored villas, Koch and senior network officials detailed their reasons for staying out of the presidential contest. The organization may invest in a handful of races for governor and House as well.
The plans come as the network is under pressure from some of its wealthy donors to get off the sidelines and use its national field infrastructure and paid advertising capacity to back Mr Trump. “Much better for them to meet with the puppets of politics, they will do much better!” “You will have to talk to him about what his facts are and what he’s relying on”, he said. “I’m sure there are people who are dissatisfied”.
“Based on that, we’re focused on the Senate”, Holden said, noting that the Koch network has devoted around $42 million so far to television and digital advertising to benefit Republican Senate candidates. But the billionaire – and conservative megadonor – has not said explicitly who he will vote for. “Where is that argument now?” “And on occasion, they decide to support additional activities outside of our network”. After years of investing millions in a massive voter database and a permanent ground force across the country, the network could boast of helping Republicans sweep statehouses and secure congressional victories in 2010 and 2014.
Instead, the Koch operation scaled back its plans.
The donors argued that if Trump is elected, the Koch network would want to have influence on his emerging policies and cabinet picks, and to have access to a Trump administration.
“And to me, the answers they’re getting are frightening”, he said without naming any politicians, “because by and large, these answers will make matters worse”.
The network has already contracted to spend $40 million in five of those key states: Nevada, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and OH – and possibly Florida as well, where Senator Marco Rubio has just a four-point polling advantage over his Democrat rival. “And we’ve got to remember that Republican presidents advance a lot of bad policies, just like Democrats”.
Other Republicans scheduled to appear include Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Texas Sen. Tim Scott, Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas.
The Washington Post and other news outlets were invited to cover portions of the weekend gathering on the condition that they do not name donors in attendance without their permission. The exclusive gathering at the foot of the Rocky Mountains is open to donors who promise to give at least $100,000 each year to Koch-approved groups.
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“We think we can be most effective working on the Senate”, said Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, a major player in the vast Koch network. That was much harder. “It ebbs and flows”.
