On Sunday, Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP Action), one of the principal political organizations controlled by right-wing billionaire Charles Koch, released a memo to the media. The memo claims that the "Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles." Now, AFP Action "is prepared to support a candidate in the Republican presidential primary who can lead our country forward, and who can win." AFP Action will "invest the necessary resources to empower millions of citizen activists and voters to turn the page on the current political era and help the American people to write a new chapter for our country."
Although the memo doesn't mention Trump's name, the clear intention is to signal a break between the Koch political network and MAGA Republicans, particularly Trump. The media responded with a flood of credulous coverage.
What is not mentioned in any of these stories is that, for years, Koch has repeatedly announced he was reorienting his political strategy away from far-right Republicans, including Trump — with no discernible change in his actual political activity. After each media-assisted rebrand, Koch quietly resumed business as usual.
The reality is that few individuals have spent more money to legitimize Trump and his allies than Charles Koch.
In a November 13, 2020, profile in the Wall Street Journal, Koch claimed that he would no longer engage in partisanship. Instead, he would devote his...
The Dangote Group has become aware of a publication titled “Aliko Dangote Speaks Out on Why He Distanced Himself from Tony Elumelu,” which is false, malicious, and baseless. At no time did the Pre...