Officials with the Libertarian-leaning network of donors tied to billionaire Charles Koch decried President Donald Trump for his “divisive” rhetoric at a gathering over the weekend, The Washington Post reported.
Koch network co-chair Brian Hooks cited Trump’s “tremendous lack of leadership” as contributing to the “deterioration of the core institutions of society” and said the “divisiveness of this White House is causing long-term damage.”
Hooks specifically called out Trump and his allies in Congress who have been supportive of Trump’s trade policy and uptick in federal spending. Charles Koch himself was careful to not call out the President personally, but rather suggested that partisan politics has caused a divide in the U.S. “long before Trump.”
“We’ve had divisiveness long before Trump became president and we’ll have it long after he’s no longer president,” he said. “I’m into hating the sin, not the sinner. … I don’t care what initials are in front, or after, somebody’s name. . . . I’d like there to be many more politicians who would embrace and have the courage to run on a platform like this.”
Known for its support of Republicans, the group announced it would spend as much as $400 million this year on policy and the political campaigns of Republicans running to hold the Senate.
