In the US it is called the “breast milk of politics”: money. In hardly any other country is the cost of running an election campaign as high as in the United States. The candidates, mostly millionaires themselves, thus depend on the favor of major donors. These have a major influence on what happens in politics.
Donald Trump also knows this, who wants to return to the White House for the Republicans in 2024. Therefore, this news should make the ex-president sweat: he has one of the most important financiers of his party against him – the ultra-right American billionaire Charles Koch.
Koch is the head of a powerful conservative network called Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP). Founded by him and his late brother David Koch, the organization has spent millions in the past to support the far-right Tea Party movement within the Republican Party, among other things.
Once again, the network has raised a large sum of money for the election campaign — more than $70 million, the “New York Times” and “Reuters” reported Thursday, citing an anonymous representative. However, the money is not there to support Trump. It is to sabotage his re-election as a Republican presidential candidate. It would be the first time in the Koch Network’s roughly 20-year history that it has intervened in the Republican primary.
Charles Koch is one of the richest people in the world
According to the reports, it is unclear what portion of this money should be used against Trump during the Republican primary. However, this takes precedence. The network is confident that Trump would again lose to Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election if he ran for office. “There is a clear sense of urgency in selecting candidates who can win,” the insider told Reuters. “Even a significant number of President Trump’s supporters are concerned about his suitability and open to an alternative.”
AFP already indicated in a statement last February that it wanted to leave Trump behind. “The best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who marks a new chapter,” CEO Emily Seidel wrote. The group has not yet openly endorsed a Republican candidate.
Charles Koch is one of the richest people in the world. However, there is no spark between him and Trump in terms of their respective economic interests. While the 77-year-old ex-president fueled economic nationalism in the country with his “America First” slogan, the Koch Network is championing right-libertarian free trade interests. Trump ranted on Twitter in 2018: “The globalist Koch brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, oppose strong borders and strong trade”.
When asked by Reuters, a spokesman for Trump’s campaign team said on the latest reports that the ex-president’s move would not be stopped with money. “We applaud this fight,” it said. Polls show Trump leading Ron DeSantis, his party’s second nominee, by more than 20 percentage points. (t-online, aj)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
