Charles Koch: Why We're Skipping Convention

Charles Koch: Why We're Skipping Convention Where Paul Ryan Won't Be GOP's 'White Knight'

• By JONATHAN KARL
• ALEXANDER MALLIN

Apr 25, 2016, 5:04 AM ET


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Alex Mallin/ABC New

WATCH Charles Koch: Why We're Skipping GOP Convention Where Paul Ryan Won't Be 'White Knight'

The remaining Republican presidential candidates have driven Charles Koch to keep his massive conservative network away from this summer's GOP convention.

But despite his disagreements with the Republican frontrunners, he doesn't believe House Speaker Paul Ryan should be selected in July as the party’s nominee.

“Why go?” Koch said of his network "Freedom Partners" attending the convention in Cleveland.

“We're not interested in politics. We’re interested in moving us towards a culture and policies that will enable people to improve their lives.”

Koch, the billionaire author of "Good Profit" and -- along with his brother David -- one of the most controversial figures in modern politics, expressed his disappointment in an exclusive ABC News interview over the Republican presidential race that he said derailed into a litany of ad hominem attacks early on.

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“We've tried to change it,” Koch said, adding he and his brother are “hopeful” something good will come out of the convention.

“So we've tried to change that for the better, but we haven’t been successful," he said.

While Koch said Ryan is “better on the issues” than the remaining field, he doesn’t think it would be appropriate to hand him the nomination as a “white knight” in the event of a contested convention.

“I don’t see how he could win,” Koch said. “If he did, I mean that would create the impression this whole thing is rigged, which -- that's the opposite of the direction we want to go.”

When it comes to the general election, Koch raised eyebrows by suggesting it was “possible” Hillary Clinton would be a better president than the remaining Republican nominees. But he insists that despite his network donating hundreds of millions to Republican campaigns over the past decade, the party label is not a qualifier in terms of his support.

“We're not for somebody because they're Republican or against them because they are Democrat,” Koch said. “If the Democrats will do a better job, we would support them. But we're not going to get in any campaign where we believe that we can’t make a difference."

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