Kansas Gov. Colyer resists taking sides on Trump vs. Koch brothers

Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer avoided weighing in Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s criticism of the Kansas-based Koch brothers — who are among the most influential Republican donors in the country.

Trump took to Twitter Tuesday morning to slam the billionaires, saying, “I don’t need their money or bad ideas.”

The megadonors drew the president’s ire after Charles Koch said at a donor retreat in Colorado that their network wouldn’t necessarily oppose all Democratic candidates solely because of their party affiliation. Koch would like to see more politicians who “have the courage to run on a platform” regardless of political affiliation, he said.

The Kochs “have become a total joke in real Republican circles,” Trump wrote.

Does Colyer — who received tens of thousands from the Kochs while running for state representative, state senator and lieutenant governor — agree with that?

Colyer initially said that he hadn’t seen the Tweet but that he supports the president.

“I look forward to continue to work with the administration. They have been very helpful to Kansas, and Kansas’ economy is starting to grow,” Colyer said Tuesday at Hilltop Learning Center in Overland Park after casting his early ballot in the state primary. “Those are some of the things starting to happen nationally, and some of the things starting to happen locally.”

After being read a portion of Trump’s tweet, the governor again expressed his support for the president without addressing the criticism by Charles Koch.

“I support the president, and it’s about — you know — I’m focusing on my race right here,” Colyer said. As he finished, his staffers ended the interview.

Charles and David Koch are the owners of Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held corporations in the country. They spend millions yearly to promote their free-market, conservative ideology. They founded Americans for Prosperity — a national conservative advocacy group — and are among the primary funders of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, a pro-business organization that usually supports Republican candidates through its PAC.

Beyond directly handing over checks, they are key players in the fundraising infrastructure of the national Republican Party.

The combined budget of their network to help Republicans in the 2016 election was $889 million, Politico reported, which was more than twice what the Republican National Committee spent four years earlier. The Kochs also pledged nearly $400 million more in January to support Republicans in this year’s midterms, CNBC reported.

This story was originally published July 31, 2018 at 2:12 PM with the headline "Kansas Gov. Colyer resists taking sides on Trump vs. Koch brothers."