<p>Charles and David Koch had originally intended to raise almost $880 million in support of candidates for the 2016 presidential election &#8211; but have so far refused to endorse anyone. This week, they confirmed that they would not be supporting GOP nominee Donald Trump. ;</p>
<p>The Koch brothers are among many influential Republicans who refuse to align themselves with Trump. Speaking at a tech conference this week in Colorado, Charles Koch slammed Trump&rsquo;s policies as &ldquo;antithetical&rdquo; to his. &#8220;I&#8217;m sure he is a fine fellow underneath, but when you look at our guiding principles, his guiding principles are in many ways antithetical to ours.&#8221; ;</p>
<p>The media went wild a few months ago after an enigmatic interview in which Charles admitted that Hillary Clinton could possibly make a better candidate than a Republican. ;&ldquo;What I said was it was possible [to back Clinton] if she totally changed everything she stood for,&rdquo; said Charles after the rumors started. &ldquo;I have got to be more careful about what I say.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>When asked about the general election, Charles stated, &ldquo;I see two people that as of this point we&rsquo;re not supporting&hellip;If I had to vote for cancer or a heart attack why would I vote for either?&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>With fortunes estimated at over $40 billion each, Charles and David Koch are a force to be reckoned with. They have proved influential in conservative politics for many years, fueling Tea Party initiatives that aim to limit the size of government. ;</p>
<p>The only real way the Koch brothers wield power over a political candidate is to ;donate or withhold money &ndash; but they can&rsquo;t to that with Donald Trump. The real estate mogul would certainly benefit from a Koch endorsement, but he can also tell them to f*** off. ;</p>
<p>When you take politics out of the equation, it makes sense that the Koch brothers would not want to support a man who is, in effect, a billionaire rival. On top of that, the brothers know they won&rsquo;t gain any power or influence from supporting Trump. Perhaps Trump is better off without them. ;</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> If you read up on the Koch&#8217;s you may find, as I did, their political philosophies are a little off. Despite their support of conservative causes, I&#8217;m a bit relieved their influence will be limited. ;</p>
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