It is possible the Hillary Clinton could be a better president than the candidates in the Republican Party, according to billionaire industrialist Charles Koch during an exclusive interview with ABC News.
Charles and his brother David Koch are among the most stalwart and influential supporters of the Republican Party. The Koch brothers give significant amount of contributions for conservative Republican causes. They lead the Freedom Partners, a political organization focused on protecting the freedom and opportunity for Americans.
The Koch brothers support the tea party movement and have been consistent in opposing the Democratic Party during the eight years tenure of President Barack Obama.
During the interview, Koch said he believed that former President Bill Clinton was a better president “in some ways” than George W. Bush. According to him, “In other ways, I mean [Clinton] wasn’t an exemplar, but as far as the growth of government. The increase in spending, it was 2.5 times [more] under Bush than it was under Clinton.”
When asked if Hillary would be a better choice to become the president of the United States that the current Republican candidates, Koch said, “It’s possible.” However, the billionaire industrialist did not directly say that he could see himself supporting Hillary.
Koch said, “We would have to believe her actions would be quite different than her rhetoric. Let me put it that way.”
Hillary Clinton not interested in Koch’s endorsement
The Democratic presidential front-runner said she was not interested in Koch’s support in a message posted on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR).
“Not interested in endorsements from people who deny climate science and try to make it harder for people to vote,” wrote Hillary Clinton.
During the Democratic debate in Miami last month, Clinton noted the relationship of the Koch brothers to his rival Sen. Bernie Sanders for his opposition to the Import-Export Bank— a key issue for the Republicans pushed by the industrialist billionaires.
Hillary Clinton said, “I just think it’s worth pointing out that the leaders of the fossil fuel industry, the Koch brothers, have just paid to put up an ad praising Sen. Sanders. You know, there are a lot of different powerful interests in Washington. I’ve taken them on.”
The Koch brothers have been long-time Republican supporters, but there were times when they did not side with the conservative on certain issues. In 1980, David Koch was the vice-presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party. Charles Koch criticized the Iraq War during the Bush administration.
Koch calls Republican presidential candidates as “terrible role models”
Charles Koch described the remaining Republican presidential candidates as “terrible models” during the interview with ABC. According to him, he would only support Donald Trump or Sen. Ted Cruz if they would reverse some of their policy proposals.
He criticized Trump for his proposal to create a Muslim registry. He said, “That’s reminiscent of Nazi Germany. I mean — that’s monstrous, as I said at the time.” Charles Koch added, “We haven’t put a penny in any of these campaigns, pro or con. That’s not what we do. What we’re trying to do is build alliances to make the country better.”
