Kochs: No Money for Trump

They'll take their cash to the GOP's Senate races
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 31, 2016 12:53 PM CDT
Kochs: No Money for Trump
In this May 22, 2012 file photo, Charles Koch speaks in his office at Koch Industries in Wichita, Kansas.   (Bo Rader/The Wichita Eagle via AP, File)

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." That translates to zero Koch dollars for the Republican nominee, a Koch rep says, given that no presidential candidates lined up from "a values, and beliefs and policy perspective. Based on that, we're focused on the Senate," he says, noting that Koch Industries has thus far dropped $42 million on advertising for GOP Senate candidates. Trump responded to the slight via Twitter, saying, "I turned down a meeting with Charles and David Koch. Much better for them to meet with the puppets of politics, they will do much better!"

The Kochs' decision doesn't mean they'll use their money to undermine Trump, however. "We have no intention to go after Donald Trump," their rep tells the AP. But with a war chest that he says is about $750 million—of which a significant chunk was to go toward re-taking the Oval Office from the Democrats—it's still a financial blow to Trump and windfall for Senate Republicans. (More Charles Koch stories.)

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