Over the weekend, top officials with the Koch network of donors criticized the Trump administration’s “protectionist” trade policies and President Donald Trump's “lack of leadership.” | Oliver Contreras/Getty Images Trump slams Koch brothers in 'America first' tweet President Donald Trump ratcheted up his feud with the Koch brothers on Thursday, hammering the billionaire conservative donors’ trade policy rhetoric and questioning whether they are actually contributing to political campaigns. “Charles Koch of Koch Brothers, who claims to be giving away millions of dollars to politicians even though I know very few who have seen this (? ), now makes the ridiculous statement that what President Trump is doing is unfair to ‘foreign workers,’” the president tweeted. “He is correct, AMERICA FIRST!” Over the weekend, top officials with the Koch network of donors criticized what it called the Trump administration’s “protectionist” trade policies and the president’s “lack of leadership” during a meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Kochs’ political network also announced that it would not support, for now, some Republican Senate candidates, including Trump ally Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, who is running to unseat the Democratic incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. Charles Koch also suggested he would be willing to work with Democrats on certain issues, including criminal justice reform, if they were to take control of the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections. James Davis, a Koch Network spokesman, said on Thursday in a response to Trump’s tweet that the organization “has a long-term commitment to unite around issues that will help people improve their lives.” Davis added that the organization would continue to work with Trump and elected officials on where they agree. “Where we disagree, we will do so in a civil way,” he said. “This is what it will take to make progress on the issues and ultimately create a society of mutual benefit — where people succeed by helping others.” Koch on Sunday also sharply denounced the president’s trade policies. “We should just get rid of all barriers except on things that will hurt people,” he said according to ABC News . “Yeah, it’s unfair. It’s unfair to their people,” Koch said of countries negatively affected by the administration’s policies. In another tweet earlier this week, Trump attacked the “globalist” Kochs as “a total joke in real Republican circles,” saying they are “against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade.” “Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn,” he wrote on Tuesday. “They want to protect their companies outside the U.S. from being taxed, I’m for America First & the American Worker — a puppet for no one. Two nice guys with bad ideas. Make America Great Again!”<doc-sep>President Trump has aimed his ire on Twitter at the Koch brothers, two of the conservative world’s biggest and best-known donors and fundraisers, calling them “globalist” and saying that “their network is highly overrated.” The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade. I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas. They love my Tax & Regulation Cuts, Judicial picks & more. I made..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018 ....them richer. Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn. They want to protect their companies outside the U.S. from being taxed, I’m for America First & the American Worker - a puppet for no one. Two nice guys with bad ideas. Make America Great Again! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018 The tweets come a day after representatives of the Koch network — founders of the Cato Institute, one of the main funders behind the Tea Party movement and a major force in GOP politics over the past decade — announced that the group will not support North Dakota Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer in his incredibly tight race against Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. The Koch network has argued that Cramer is “inconsistent” on issues that matter to them, including free trade. A Cramer win would help Republicans keep control of the Senate, but Cramer has voiced some support for Trump’s planned tariffs aimed at Chinese goods — tariffs to which the network is highly opposed. And it’s not just North Dakota. In fact, the network is only taking an active part in four Senate races this election cycle: Wisconsin, Missouri, Tennessee, and Florida. According to Politico, Koch network representatives like Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips told donors at a weekend meeting, “We can’t support [Cramer] at this time. And to be clear, we’ve met with his team, explained this, and lobbied him on this to change their ways,” adding, “For those who stand in the way, we don’t pull any punches, regardless of party.” But the Koch network — which, despite a contentious relationship with Trump, had previously voiced support for the president’s tax bill and other planned legislation — is pushing away from not just Trump but the GOP, with founder Charles Koch telling reporters at that weekend event that his groups had made “mistakes” and that he has “regrets” about the one-party focus the network has had in past elections. Specifically, while Koch-connected groups have worked closely with the White House on issues like criminal justice reform, the Koch network is unhappy with the GOP’s handling of two specific policy areas: trade and immigration, issues on which the Kochs’ libertarian leanings cause them to break with the administration. Brian Hooks, co-chair of the Seminar Network, a Koch-run organization, told reporters that the White House and the party have no positive messaging to guide Americans forward. “You see this on trade. In order to get to a good place on the debate, you have to convince the American people that trade is bad,” he said over the weekend, according to NBC’s Leigh Ann Caldwell. “You see it on immigration, in order to get to a good policy, you have to convince people that immigrants are bad. That’s not a sustainable tactic or achieving good policy.” Contrary to Trump’s tweet, however, the Koch network remains incredibly important within Republican circles. Koch network groups had planned in January to spend as much as $400 million on the 2018 midterms — including $20 million on selling the GOP tax cuts to voters. During the 2016 presidential election, the network planned to spend nearly $900 million supporting state-level Republicans across the country — but not, it should be noted, to support Trump. Former Trump campaign CEO and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon also railed against the Koch network, telling Politico that voters didn’t want free trade and the Koch brothers should “get with the program,” and adding, “We can have a theoretical discussion later, OK? This is why they don’t know what it means to win, OK?” Conservative writer Jonah Goldberg responded on Twitter:<doc-sep>“I’m not a trade expert. The argument that I do understand is that open trade is best trade, and I hope that that’s where he’s trying to go,” Saeman said. “It’s kind of a circuitous way to get there, but I think a lot of people are on notice that the unfair trade deals from the past aren’t going to stand. So, how are they going to stand [now]? Well, we’ll see.”<doc-sep>
The president similarly attacked the Koch brothers during the 2016 campaign. President Donald Trump launched a searing attack Tuesday against the billionaire donor Koch brothers amid the group's renewed public relations push in opposition to the president's trade war. "The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade," Trump said in an early morning tweet. "I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas." The president also echoed an attack line he employed during the 2016 campaign, when he relentlessly criticized his GOP opponents as "puppets" for currying favor with the Koch political network. "Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn," Trump said. "They want to protect their companies outside the U.S. from being taxed, I'm for America First and the American Worker -- a puppet for no one." Trump's criticism of the Koch brothers followed the group's biannual meeting over the weekend in Colorado Springs, where top officials were vocal in their criticism of the president's protectionist trade actions and anti-immigration rhetoric. "The divisiveness of this White House is causing long-term damage," Brian Hooks, a top Koch official, told reporters at a briefing Saturday. "When in order to win on an issue somebody has to lose, it makes it very difficult to unite people." Charles Koch, the 82-year-old billionaire and head of the Koch political network, also told reporters tariffs implemented by the president "could" cause a recession in the U.S. if the effects are "severe enough" and suggested his group could dial back fundraising support of Republicans who don't work to oppose the president's unilateral trade moves. Koch has been far from muted regarding opposition to Trump's more isolationist rhetoric on trade and immigration dating back to the 2016 campaign. Days after the president moved forward earlier this year with imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on the European Union, Canada and Mexico, three political groups affiliated with the billionaire Koch brothers announced plans to launch a multi-year, multi-million dollar campaign to tout free trade and oppose tariffs.