COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – Billionaire industrialist and conservative benefactor Charles Koch’s expansive political network will not help Donald Trump win the presidency. Koch also insisted that any rumor that he would back Clinton is a “blood libel”. Charles Koch’s top lieutenants have been steadfast in refusing to engage on the subject, instead keeping their focus on six Senate races where the network of Koch-backed groups-including Americans for Prosperity, the Libre Initiative and Concerned Veterans for America-is working.
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Calling Trump’s vice presidential nominee, Mike Pence, “a great guy”, Holden said Pence’s addition to the ticket had not changed their plans about engaging on the presidential level.
The group’s main argument for not supporting Trump, as The Washington Post reported, is that supporting Trump would harm the network’s credibility, making it more hard for them to not support future Republican candidates who also differ sharply from the Koch brothers’ positions on free trade and limited government.
“Terrible and truly very bad are the two choices”, Mr. Wright told the AP.
“I’m gonna vote for Donald Trump, but I’m not going to support him”, he said.
“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.
“He doesn’t have enough civility and he’s not a man of humility”, Busch charged, citing specific complaints about Trump’s positions on immigration and trade.
Charles Koch hosted another of his famous retreats for donors this weekend, this time with an eye toward preserving some endangered Republican Senate seats. The weekend’s event includes a small number of reporters, including The Associated Press.
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.
Its use has landed United States 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.
Both Clinton and Trump failed the first test, Wright said.
Moments before Holden addressed reporters, Trump – who had been in Colorado Springs for a rally Friday – tweeted that he had rejected a sit-down with the billionaire conservative brothers.
Trump thumbed his nose at the gathering from Twitter.
“I turned down a meeting with Charles and David Koch”, he wrote.
“If they did [contribute to Trump], they would compromise their values and they would never be able to hold any politician accountable”, Busch said.
The weekend’s agenda featured a series of policy discussions and appearances from at least three governors, four senators and four members of the House of Representatives, including House Speaker Paul Ryan. “But I certainly am not going to support Hillary”.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump characterized his fundraising as having “crushed” its original expectations, and vowed on Saturday to personally match new contributions made through July 31 up to $2 million.
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Koch has put the network’s budget at roughly $750m through the end of 2016. Those funds would be directed towards competitive Senate races in at least five states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Wisconsin and Florida.
