Koch network slams Trump's 'destructive' tariffs and 'divisiveness'

(Image credit: Saul Loeb/Getty Images)

published 29 July 2018

A conference of donors in Charles Koch's political network on Saturday blasted President Trump's trade war and antagonistic style of politicking.

"The divisiveness of this White House is causing long-term damage," said Brian Hooks, one of Koch's top deputies. "When in order to win on an issue, somebody else has to lose, it makes it very difficult to unite people to solve the problems of this country. You see that on trade: In order to get to a good place on trade, convince the American people that trade is bad."

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The Koch brothers (David Koch retired earlier this year) have long been critical of Trump. They declined fundraising requests from the president in 2016, and Charles said Trump's principles are "antithetical" to his own, calling Trump's Muslim registry proposal "reminiscent of Nazi Germany," "monstrous," and "frightening." More recently, the megadonors clashed with the White House over immigration, urging Trump to take a Democratic deal that would have protected from deportation young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.

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