[News Terms] Blocking Trump's Reelection, the 'Coke Network'

‘Americans for Prosperity (AFP)’ and the 'Super PAC' that officially declared support for former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley to block former U.S. President Donald Trump's nomination as the Republican presidential candidate are political donation organizations sponsored by the ‘Koch Network’ in the United States.

Billionaire American businessman Charles Koch [Photo source = Screenshot from Koch Industries YouTube]

The Koch Network, formed by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, is a political funding organization that invests in ‘conservative values’ supporting small government, free trade, and liberal values, and is a major donor especially to the Republican Party. During the 2020 U.S. presidential election, it spent $500 million supporting Republican candidates and conservative policies. It also served as a financial source for the Republican conservative grassroots campaign, the ‘Tea Party’ movement. Alongside this, it has established think tanks and educational institutions based on liberal ideology, such as the Cato Institute and George Mason University, to promote ‘conservative values.’

Although the Koch Network supports the Republican Party and conservative politicians and maintains close relationships with them, it does not unconditionally support the political group called the Republican Party. It is particularly critical of former President Trump. A famous example is when the Koch Network aired TV ads criticizing 12 Republican members of the House and Senate who supported Trump’s budget bill ahead of the November 2018 midterm elections. This clearly showed that they support conservative free-market ideals such as deregulation and tax cuts but do not support protectionism or hardline immigration policies that conflict with free-market views.

The Koch Network’s official endorsement of former Ambassador Haley is also interpreted as being influenced by this background. According to the New York Times (NYT), the Koch Network has already raised more than $70 million in political donation funds to block former President Trump’s re-election.

Meanwhile, Charles Koch, owner of the global energy company Koch Industries, is an oil magnate ranked within the top 10 on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people. His business spans various sectors including refining, oil distribution, chemicals, energy, textiles, minerals, fertilizers, and paper. Recently, he has been diversifying investments into the electric vehicle battery sector and is considered a major player in the eco-friendly energy business. Koch Industries has invested approximately $750 million in the U.S. battery supply chain and electric vehicle sector. His brother David Koch ran as the Libertarian Party’s vice-presidential candidate in the 1980 U.S. presidential election.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.