Asked if he could imagine Clinton as a preferable president over Trump or Senator Ted Cruz, who finished second in the Republican primary, Koch said: “Let me put it that way: it’s possible”.
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“The first thing I want to do is correct a rumor that the media keeps stimulating, and that is that I’m probably going to support Hillary”, Koch told a gathering of 400 donors to his political network assembled here for a weekend retreat.
As it happens, “blood libel” is a very specific and fraught term. “That is a blood libel”, he added to loud applause, comparing the notion to false accusations throughout history that Jews killed Christian children for ritualistic purposes.
There’s no hope for Charles Koch in this year’s presidential election.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – From a luxury hotel on the edge of the Rocky Mountains, some of the nation’s most powerful Republican donors are rebelling against Donald Trump.
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“I turned down a meeting with Charles and David Koch”, Trump tweeted on Saturday.
The Kochs spent some $400 million on United States politics in 2015 and are planning to shell out about $900 million to shape this year’s presidential election.
“My viewpoint is that we’re facing a tragedy in this country”, he said. “That’s what the data shows”.
Charles and David Koch have hosted such gatherings of donors and politicians for years, but usually in private.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee, like Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey the night before, avoided discussion of the 2016 presidential contest altogether during panel discussions.
Other Republicans scheduled to appear include Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Texas Sen.
A few of reporters, including one from The Associated Press, were invited to attend some of the forums.
Its use has landed U.S. political figures in trouble before: in 2011, the former Alaska governor and vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin used it against critics of her rhetoric about Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was severely wounded in a mass shooting in which six people died.
In Nevada, the Koch network is making a $1.2 million TV and digital buy titled “Nineteen” to support Republican Rep. Joe Heck.
On Sunday, Koch said the network’s priorities would be to shape policy in Congress and support conservative leaders at the state level.
“To address the current political crisis, our first objective is to stop the worst federal policies, regardless of who is the next president”, he told the donors.
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“At this point, I can’t support either candidate, but I’m certainly not going to support Hillary”, he declared.
