Colorado Politics

More on Koch Colo. conference: Another blast from Trump on trade criticism

President Donald Trump took to Twitter again Thursday to blast billionaire conservative activist Charles Koch for criticizing Trump’s tariff policies at a Colorado Springs conference last weekend.

Trump mocked the GOP mega-donor for complaining that his tariffs and foreign policies were unfair to foreign workers.

“He is correct,” Trump tweeted. “AMERICA FIRST!”

> RELATED: Billionaire conservative funder Koch takes on Trump over trade at Colorado meeting

In the tweet, Trump also claimed that not many people had seen proof that Charles Koch, and his younger brother David Koch, had given “millions of dollars” to politicians as has been widely reported for years.

The president’s tweet was a response to comments the elder Koch made to reporters on Sunday during the Koch brothers’ three-day conference of donors to their political network at The Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs July 28-30.

In a rare on-the-record session with reporters invited to the event, Charles Koch said that the Trump administration’s trade policies were “unfair” to the countries affected, adding that the conversation about tariffs has become “ridiculous.”

In a video presented at the conference, Koch said Trump’s tariff policies could hurt the U.S. economy.

“The urge to protect ourselves from change has doomed many countries throughout history,” Koch said in the video. “This protectionist mindset has destroyed countless businesses.”

> RELATED: More from Kochs’ Colo. meeting: They won’t back GOP Senate hopeful; Trump lashes out

The continued backlash at the Koch brothers follows Trump’s Tuesday comments where he said that their political funding had “become a total joke in real Republican circles,” and is “highly overrated.”

“The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas. They love my Tax & Regulation Cuts, Judicial picks & more.”

“I made them richer,” Trump continued. “Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn.”

Colorado Politics contributed.

A screen shot of one of President Donald Trump’s Aug. 2 tweets attacking the Koch brothers. (Via Twitter)
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