Charles and David Koch, welcome to the Resistance.
In June, the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity announced that it was releasing a digital ad in support of North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a conservative Democrat who’s facing a tough re-election bid against GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer. Yesterday, AFP President Tim Phillips announced that his group had decided not to back Cramer yet, in part because Cramer has embraced the Donald Trump position on tariffs and trade, according to CNN.
Cramer, according to Phillips, “is not leading on the issues where this country needs leadership the most right now.” He added that “if Cramer doesn’t step up to lead, that makes it hard to support him.” AFP CEO Emily Seidel agreed, saying, “Why would Cramer listen to this network if they knew we’d just support him anyway?” (Take note, Democrats!)
So earlier today, Trump fired off a couple of tweets calling the Koch brothers washed up:
The Kochs, who spent roughly a quarter of a billion dollars on the 2016 elections but stayed out of the presidential contest, declined to respond to Trump directly. “We support policies that help all people improve their lives. We look forward to working with anyone to do so,” Koch political network spokesman James Davis told CNN in a statement.
What’s especially funny about the idea that Trump was taken over the edge by the Kochs’ snub of Cramer is that just last month, Cramer himself whined that Trump was too close to Heitkamp, arguing that Trump favors her because she’s a woman. Apparently, the fact that she’s supported his agenda more often than any Democrat except for Joe Manchin has nothing to do with it.
Either way, Phillips said earlier this year that the Koch network was planning on spending up to $400 million this year to protect its priorities, such as its signature corporate welfare program (which was passed by congressional Republicans and signed into law by Trump last year) and confirming young Antonin Scalia clones to the Supreme Court. And if they’re successful, it would be conducive to Trump getting most of what he wants, i.e., a continued lack of oversight over his cartoonishly evil and corrupt administration. So, really, this beef is not all that juicy.
If the Kochs really want to stick it to Trump and #resist him, though, they could just give all of their money to poor people and then fuck off forever. That’s always an option!