• Charles Koch’s political organization, AFP Action, released a memo claiming that the Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles.
• The memo signals a break between the Koch political network and MAGA Republicans, particularly Trump.
• Despite Koch’s repeated announcements of reorienting his political strategy away from far-right Republicans, including Trump, he has quietly resumed business as usual.
• Koch has spent millions of dollars to legitimize Trump and his allies.
• After 147 Republican members of Congress voted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, the Koch network announced that the vote would “”weigh heavy in our evaluation of future support.””
• However, over the next two years, AFP Action spent $63,401,608 supporting Republican candidates for federal office, $5,576,858 opposing Democratic candidates, and zero dollars supporting Democratic candidates.
• 86.7% of AFP Action’s spending bolstered candidates who were endorsed by Trump.
• In 2016, Koch generated headlines for saying he would not financially support Trump, who had secured the Republican nomination, but ended up providing critical financial support to Trump’s successful campaign.
Published February 7, 2023
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