Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon cautioned GOP candidates from accepting funds for the 2018 midterm elections from the Koch political donor network, or face a “punishment.”
“You take Koch money, it’s going to be toxic,” Bannon said in an interview with CNBC. “We are going to let people know that if you take Koch money there’s a punishment. If you take money from people who are against the president and are looking to put a knife in the back of the president, you are going to pay.”
[Opinion: Koch brothers tell Republicans the free ride is over]
Bannon did not reveal how those who accepted Koch money would be penalized, but he said that he would uncover who is financially backing the Koch network.
“We are going to find out who they [the donors] are. We are going to identify people who the Kochs back. We’re not just going to sit there and allow them to destroy the Trump presidency,” Bannon said.
A spokesperson for the Koch network said the network was seeking to unify the U.S. and wanted to “remove barriers” restraining those from tapping into their “potential.”
“We are focused on uniting the country to help remove barriers that are preventing people from reaching their potential, and we look forward to working with anyone to help people improve their lives,” spokesman James Davis said in a statement, per CNBC.
Bannon’s statements come after Trump bashed conservative tycoons Charles and David Koch Tuesday morning and claimed that they “have become a total joke in real Republican circles.”
“Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn,” he added.
Although the Kochs backed the Trump administration’s tax cut and deregulation policies, they have been outspoken advocates against his immigration and trade policies. The network has recently expressed interest in backing Democrats whose views align with theirs.
