Clash in GOP as Trump, Kochs feud escalates
Intra-party feud could hurt GOP in this fall’s elections.
President Donald Trump trashed the conservative billionaire Koch brothers as a“total joke in real Republican circles.”
The war of NEW YORK — words intensified between two titans in Republican politics on Tuesday as President Donald Trump trashed the conservative billionaire Koch brothers as a “total joke in real Republican circles.”
The presidential comment followed a weekend gathering of Koch officials who repeatedly condemned White House trade policies, the explosion of government spending and the president’s divisive tone.
The intra-party feud could hurt the GOP in this fall’s midterm elections and beyond. While the Kochs refused to endorse Trump’s first presidential run, the president’s loyalists don’t want his 2020 re-election campaign bogged down by lingering bad blood.
“The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade,” Trump tweeted. “I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas.”
The president later added: “I’m for America First & the American Worker — a puppet for no one. Two nice guys with bad ideas.”
Over the weekend, network patriarch, 82-year-old Charles Koch, refused to criticize the president personally when asked whether the president should bear any responsibility for the divisive tone in Washington. “We’ve had divisiveness long before Trump became president and we’ll have it long after he’s no longer president,” Koch said.
Responding to the president’s social media attack, Koch spokesman James Davis was measured. “We support policies that help all people improve their lives. We look forward to working with anyone to do so,” he said.
The day before, the Kochs’ political advocacy network announced it would not back the GOP candidate in the North Dakota Senate race, determining that Republican challenger Kevin Cramer’s record on government spending made him no better than the Democratic incumbent.
The Kochs have not ruled out similar moves in top-tier Senate races in Indiana, Missouri, Montana, and West Virginia, although they are actively working to help elect Republican Senate candidates in Florida, Tennessee and Wisconsin. “We’ve got a message for lawmakers across the country. We are raising the bar, raising expectations,” Koch lieutenant Emily Seidel told donors Monday.
Some loyalists to the president were furious at perceived contradictions in the Koch network’s behavior. “The Kochs had zero to do with Trump’s win in 2016,” former White House counselor Steve Bannon said. “But they were willing to support the tax cut and the deregulation, while opposing the heart of Trumpism — trade and immigration.”