The following article by Jeremy W. Peters was posted on the New York Times website July 31, 2018:
Charles G. Koch, one of the Republicans’ biggest donors, has been critical of President Trump’s protectionist trade policies. Mr. Trump is hitting back, creating tensions that could affect the party in the midterm elections.Published OnJuly 31, 2018CreditImage by Bo Rader/The Wichita Eagle, via Associated Press
Few had better reason to appreciate Mr. Trump’s results than Charles G. Koch, a billionaire industrialist who is one of the Republican Party’s biggest donors.
Yet Mr. Koch’s simmering frustrations with the president over trade and immigration have now spilled over into an ugly public feud with Mr. Trump and candidates who side with him. By calling Mr. Trump’s trade policies “detrimental” and denouncing divisive leadership, Mr. Koch is making a provocative political move that — be it hardball strategy or more of a ploy — threatens to complicate Republican efforts to hold on to their slim congressional majorities in the November midterm elections.