It’s rare for Charles Koch to do interviews with the media, so ABC and George Stephanopoulos did what they could to hype their exclusive interview on This Week on Sunday. And it didn’t matter what Koch said to reporter Jon Karl because Stephanopoulos bent it to mean whatever he wanted it mean. Even going as far as to say Koch would support Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and used it to help hype division in the Republican Party
To start off his show Stephanopoulos interviewed RNC Chairman Reince Priebus about the state of the race and that party. During the interview Priebus said he thinks the party is in a good place heading into the convention. The host jumped on the Chairman, ambushing him with a clip from the Koch interview where he was asked if he could support Hillary:
KARL: You couldn't see yourself supporting Hillary Clinton, could you?
KOCH: Well -- her -- we would have to believe her actions would be quite different than her rhetoric, let me put it that way.
Following the clip Stephanopoulos was giddy when pointing out that the Koch brothers have done many things for benefit of the Republican Party. Priebus pointed out that, “they have their own activities that they work on. We have ours. There isn't that much intersection between the two.” This is true seeing as Charles Koch is more closely aligned with Libertarians and differs from Republicans on foreign policy and other issues. Koch did point out that Clinton would have to divorce herself from all of her positions to get his support and that is not going to happen.
Later on in the show, and still before the Koch interviewed aired, Stephanopoulos did an interview with Senator Bernie Sanders. During Sanders’ interview he played a clip of Koch talking about a rigged system and correlated with Sanders:
KARL: Is rigged in favor of the wealthiest?
KOCH: Because this two-tiered society creates welfare for the wealthy and creates obstacles to opportunities for the disadvantaged.
Of course Koch believes it’s a rigged system, but he believes that it originates from a government’s power. He also believes that when government picks winners and losers that is when the system becomes rigged. Unlike Sanders he doesn’t believe that companies are out to exploit their workers and consumers.
The Koch brothers are the liberal media’s favorite target to point to as a hub of corruption in government, often referring to them as the “dark money” in politics. So it’s no surprise to see them use the Kochs as a tool to try and wedge the Republican Party apart. Even twisting their words around and going against their own narrative about them to do so.
Partial transcripts below:
ABC
This Week
April 24, 2016
10:05:06 AM Eastern[On screen headline: Mega-Donor Koch Brother Open to Supporting Clinton Over GOP]
REINCE PRIEBUS: Well, look. I mean, and we're starting the general election campaign, too. We had two soldiers from Benghazi at the RNC meeting who were lied to by Hillary Clinton, who did an awful job as secretary of state. So look, there’s going be plenty of return fire, I can assure you of that. But right now, as you know, we're in the middle of trying to figure out who our nominee is going to be.
I feel good about where we’re at as a party on the fundamentals, on voter registration, on work in the field, on data, on be a party ready for a general to keep the house and the senate. But look, we're working hard to make sure that we've got an open and fair convention so that, we get to that place where we can unify around one person.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You say you feel good about that, but you got a lot prominent supporters of the Republican Party holding out. Including Charles Koch. In in exclusive interview with Jon Karl, he says he's probably sitting out the general election. And then he goes on to say this.
[Cuts to video]
JON KARL: So, is it possible that another Clinton could be better than another Republican this time around?
CHARLES KOCH: It's possible. It's possible.
KARL: You couldn't see yourself supporting Hillary Clinton, could you?
KOCH: Well -- her -- we would have to believe her actions would be quite different than her rhetoric, let me put it that way.
[Cuts back to live]
STEPHANOPOULOS: Now Mr. Chairman it's pretty remarkable that someone who has done so much for your party would go that far saying that he is considering Hillary Clinton. And he’s not alone. Is the party really unifying behind Donald Trump or Ted Cruz right now?
PRIEBUS: Well, I mean, it's pretty split. I mean obviously, you can see it out there. It looks like a -- you know, on the delegate front, obviously Trump has a little bit of the lead. But look on a delegate selection front, it looks like a pretty split decision. So, I think it’s will be a close contest going in the next 60 days.
But look, Charles Koch, I know David and Charles. And Charles, in particular, has often times gone out of his way to appear nonpartisan. And maybe he is. I don't know. But you know, certainly, they have their own activities that they work on. We have ours. There isn't that much intersection between the two. We're prepared to win in November. But we're also prepared to –
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well they funded Republican candidates all down the ballot--
PREIBUS: Well sure they have.
STEPHANOPOULOS: --all across the country.
PREIBUS: Yes, they have. But you have to admit that Charles, in the past, has gone out of his way to make the case for him being a little bit less partisan than people would -- would expect. I mean, that's all I'm saying. But look, the point here is that eventually, we're going to -- everyone is going to run out of time to analyze this. And we're going to have a nominee. And it's going the come down to four to eight more years of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, or a different direction. And I think that will be a very powerful case that we're going to be able to make as a party.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Meantime, Charles Koch is saying he’s not going to be going to the convention. And he's not alone. Senator John McCain saying he probably won't go. Other Senate candidates like Mark Kirk, Kelly Ayotte saying they're not going to go at all. Are you confident you're have your party behind you at this convention given the tone of this campaign?
PREIBUS: I don't remember seeing some of those folks at the convention in the past. I mean, I'm sure that Mark and Kelly –
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, John McCain was your nominee.
PREIBUS: The Senator has, but I don't know. That's what I just qualified. What I was saying was I don't remember seeing Charles Koch at any other convention. So I don't know whether that's news or not. I mean, look. This is going to be potentially a pretty historic event.
Some people gravitate toward that conflict. Other people run from that conflict. I mean the point is, it’s will be up to the individual. Some people like the idea of an open convention with a floor operation. Some people don't enjoy that. So, look, it's going to be up to them.
It may very well be historic. And the point is, though, eventually, we're going to have a nominee. And we're going to have a very stark contrast between the two choices. And given Hillary Clinton's record on being trustworthy and being honest, and the fact that things are not going that well under Barack Obama. I think that we'll have a very strong case to make to the American people.
…
10:31:16 AM Eastern
STEPHANOPOULOS: [To Bernie Sanders] You know, you seem to have an unlikely ally now in Charles Koch. In that interview with Jon Karl, he seemed to agree that the economic system is in many ways rigged. Listen.
[Cuts to video]
JON KARL: You agree that the system is rigged?
CHARLES KOCH: Absolutely.
KARL: Is rigged in favor of the wealthiest?
KOCH: Because this two-tiered society creates welfare for the wealthy and creates obstacles to opportunities for the disadvantaged.
