what is the koch reason for that? well, the republican candidate supported trump on both trade and immigration. at that confab i was mentioning earlier and colorado, charles koch made a big deal about "unie previously divided." what does that mean? how are these latest retaliatory efforts actually doing that? trump is the one uniting people, for all the talk of divisiveness, trump enjoys an 88% approval rating among republicans, according to "the wall street journal," nbc poll. only george w. bush in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 saw support like that. but the koch network and others talk a good game about unity, embracing change, seizing opportunities. but when the president comes along who is actually embracing a new path, something different, on behalf of the american people, let's try a new thing now, the kochs and the globalists just have their blinders on. they won't have any of it. i had to laugh when, in a future on the koch retreat, it said the following, "democrats who attacked the koch brothers in recent

trump hitting back at the kochs tweeting early tuesday, the globalist koch brothers who have become a joke in real republican circles are against strong borders and powerful trade. i never sought their support because i don't need their money or bad ideas. the president picking a fight with its network of donors, which has pledged to invest more money in this midterm election cycle than ever before. up to $400 million. >> kevin, come out. >> reporter: the koch political machine making it clear it won't help congressman kevin kramer for now. the republican vying to unseat democratic senator heidi heitkamp in north dakota. one big reason? kramer voted for the $1.3 billion spend bill earlier this year. since 2010 the koch's have spent heavily on candidates who oppose tariffs and support government spending, among other issues. that puts republicans who may need koch money in a tough spot, especially which he former trump adviser steve bannon issued this warning tuesday. you take koch money, it's going to be toxic. candidates like marcia blackburn of ten depend and jim jordan of ohio both

they all use data. >> so the left hates the kochs. the kochs hates the left.really chance they're going to work together? >> they have proven it. they have shown that we are not about supporting a political party blindly. i think this is a huge opportunity for democrats to figure out how to embrace and train for the jobs of the future, and juxtapose that against trump's building up legacy companies. that's going to be tough for them because they have unions around manufacturing and coal mines. >> you think any democrats are going to pick up the phone and say, hey, chuck and david, how are you doing? >> i don't know, but money talks and elections are expensive. if you have a multibillionaire who wants to talk about the future and jobs. why wouldn't they be for it? >> money does talk. i wonder if it will be talking in paul manafort's case today. >> back to the top story, three-d printed assault rifles. these assault rifles would be unregistered and untraceable. we're talking to one of the attorneys general suing to stop the plans from being posted. >>> and supre

he is not a koch but he plays role. one of the things that's interesting in tipping it more broadly, the koch brothers are not going after heidi heitkamp, they're not giving to her possibly, she voted for regulatory, to roll back dodd frank. and that to me shows where they're focused. >> the koch brothers are not republicans. they're libertarians. big l libertarians and they want to get rid of regulation. they really believe wrongly, but they really believe if we would get rid of all this regulation, we would be richer and healthier, the skies would be cleaner, the water would be cleaner and of course the koch brothers would be fantastically richer than they already are. >>> last time on this program we talked about trade. it seems like you can choose to be a jeff flake here and make a speech or put your money where your mouth is. they can spend $20 million trying to run against these terrorists. >> absolutely. >> they are the most powerful people in the republican party other than president trump. you asked, how does i

koch brothers the boogy men.supporting republicans across the country. it's not the republican candidates' ideas, it was the koch brothers' ideas. that was exaggerates for political purposes, but they have spent umpteen dollars and have helped change the game. yet, here we are in a very important midterm election. according to politico, at least for now, the koch organization has not supported three of the most important republican candidates that will determine whether the senate stays republican. kevin cramer in north dakota, mike braun in indiana, dean heller in nevada. they're clearly trying to tell these guys don't take us for granted. we support, the kochs, support traditional republican policies like free trade and even immigration, to help with their businesses. the president and his supporters do not. >> yeah, i mean, the bottom line is they're ideological people. they're where someone like me is on policy. that's an uncomfortable place to be in the trump administration and with populism. you get somebod

lou: why doesn't charl koch understand that? >> he does. but again, everybody comes into this with their own interests. charles koch wants to continue to make more money. when is enough enough. and i'm not saying there is enough. but they're looking at how is it that they can make their pockets even deeper. and unfortunately they're doing it on the backs of hardworking americans who want a safe and secure country, that want a country of -- lou: on the backs of every american because what they do, they change the character of the country, the culture of the country and the safety and sochty of this country. and by the way, just to keep it in context, when is enough enough? we're talking about $120 billion for the koch brothers. that's a pretty good net worth. perhaps not enough, as you applied. but that is for them to know and for the rest of us just to kind of guess about. brandon judd, great to have you with us. thanks so much. >> thank you very much. lou: up next, deadly wildfires unleashing havoc and intersection across northern californ

the context is the koch brothers and -- just charles koch now is the leader of the koch network. policy work and other work. they had their meeting in colorado springs over the weekend. and one of the top koch officials, brian hooks, was very critical, said that the white house and divisiveness that it is creating will do long term damage. and they also said that they were frustrated with republicans who have followed the president's lead on issues like trade and immigration and that they were going to hold those republicans accountable by potentially not supporting them in crucial election as. >> isn't there is a preliminary risk for the president to attack the koch network likeas. >> isn't there is a preliminary risk for the president to attack the koch network lis. >> isn't there is a preliminary risk for the president to attack the koch network like this so brutally? >> in one sense, no, because the kochs have never really liked donald trump, donald trump never really liked the kochs. they didn't support him in the presidential election. so no bridges left to be burnt. but th

then look at charles koch.ing muscle behind her as the democrat thinking senator heitkamp for voting against banking regulations they didn't like. and now the group says they won't help the republicans unseat her. it is something different. saying he is actually speaking out about all this beyond parties. quote, i don't care what initials are after her name. i would like there to be many more politicians who have the dournlg run on a platform like this. for more on exactly what this conservative funder is doing, we go to someone who has been covering this latest koch network summit. i am joined by political reporter with nbc news. so nice to have you tonight. >> great to see you. when you look at this unusual move, does it reflect heitkamp and certain democrats getting closer to the kochs? or them taking a step away from the republican party? >> i think it is the latter. them taking a step away from the trump republican party and that's because the kochs, which are libertarian in their back ground, they think t

charl koch w charles koch was on the record likening that to nazi-style racism.etwork and he was right there in the white house as the legislative director, and they took away the crown jewel of their agenda, which was the tax cuts. so, surprise, surprise, now mark short is leaving. he's gone after the tax cuts have been enact, and i know personally from speaking with the kochs and the representatives that as early as january they started to become very uncomfortable. they started to pick up whiffs of the protectionism that was about to come with the tariffs and the trade wars and were very concerned about this. so they've been kind of in this position for several months. it is not surprising that they would come out at this point, that they are comparing this to kind of depression-era tariffs and trade protectionism. but i do think this is significant because, joe, so many sometimes we've sat in this chair and talked about what is .that it is going to take for the republicans to kind of stand up to trump. well, all along it has been who behind them. it has been

to court they stand accused of illegally shipping weapons to conflicts heckler and koch trial. is not using that word too often it's historic it's a really historic because it shows the i would call it blasphemy this cheating of etiquettes of the german government because the term and people like we strictest in arms trade and we're really looking carefully well weapons go six former heckler and koch employees all the way up to then c.e.o. peter buyer there are in the dark d.-e. legal on shipments they're accused of include sixteen batches of g thirty six assault rifles some of which ended up being used in a tragedy which shook the world. in two thousand and fourteen forty three students became collateral in mexico's bloody war on drugs when they were kidnapped by corrupt police who handed them over to the new tory years guerrero's to needles drug cartel at least several of the students were killed by the heckler and koch rifles all this extra attention has been an extremely uncomfortable experience for a heckler and koch the company is incredibly hostile the media interest and

the billionaire koch brothers.he called them a total joke in real republican circles and said they are opposed to strong borders and powerful trade. their political network criticized his leadership. it also said it will not support the republican challenger to north dakota's democratic senator. the trump administration reportedly rejected and is bid to join high-level nafta talks with the u.s. and mexico this week. country's attempts to join the negotiations were either ignored or rejected by the u.s. trade representative's office. suggested hemp has might go for a bilateral deal for turning to canada. are trying tohina restart talks aimed at averting a full blown trade war between the world's largest economies. two people familiar with the effort say representatives of steven mnuchin and the chinese vice premier are having private conversations as they look for ways

the koch brothers have now become a a household name. we are doing what professor maclean talked about before. we are exposing them, and so the education is important. and the second think that's important is, , i'm sorry i'm a broken record about this, is the engagement and connectingt the dots. and connecting it to the things that matter to people like the fight on pre-existing conditions. >> i think a tremendous amount of money is being spent on the right, as you say. that doesn't have a counterpart. and yet i would agree, the old adage that there's two sources of power, right, money and power, and the reason this koch network has mobilized billionaires and multimillionaires in the way that they have is because they disagree with the majority, a majority who believes in social security, the police and public education, that wants action on climate, the once to support teachers and all of these other things. they understand a can't persuade that majority so they're trying to go around that majority by funding all these organizations, b

>> well i think the kochs and the president agree on the final objective. we want zero tariffs, zero subsidies. david: that would be great. >> zero non-tariff barriers. i think the kochs want that. i think president trump wants that. the question is the strategy. how do you go about actually achieving that? that is tough decision to make. trump has one procedure going about to bring them to the table, to negotiate. it looks like it works pretty well with the eu and juncker when he was here. david: sure does. >> bringing back china maybe. may be working with mexico. but you know the bottom line the kochs have been phenomenal for generations in this country supporting good, free market, pro-growth,. david: doing a lot of charity. i want to get to taxes and the plan to index capital gains and take inflation into account so you're not being charged double. one the tax cost, the the cost of inflation. immediately nancy pelosi said it is another giveaway to the rich. don't millions and millions of americans have stocks that could be taxed for capital gains as wel

plus, the koch network. they're now saying the trump administration is too divisive and is willing to give money to the democrats. i'll speak with a representative of the koch agency. they're using air marshals to put it out. we have new information. you might take something for your heart... or joints. but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally discovered in jellyfish, prevagen has been shown in clinical trials to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. and help you feel more strength & energy in just 2 weeks. i'll take that. ensure high protein, with 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar. ensure® i'm ray and i quit smoking with chantix. i tried cold turkey, i tried the patch. they didn't work for me. i didn't think anything was going to work for me until i tried chantix. chantix, along with support, helps you quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. i needed that to quit. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have ni

we talk about the koch brothers in tandem.his conference different and what are folks saying apt t -- about the prospects for the midterms? >> a lot has changed for the koch brothers. one brother has stepped down, but let me tell you about this conference. they have it twice a year. you have to donate $100,000 per year to be able to come, and so these are the wealthy, sometimes libertarian-minded donors who come together and talk about politics and policy, and we've seen a bit of a shift among the koch brothers or about the koch network over the past few months, and that is that they started attacking republicans, as well. i mean, don't get me wrong, they are spending $300 to $400 million on politics and policy for the 2018 midterm elections. that's an enormous amount of money, and the majority of that is going to be spent to help re-elect republicans, but there is a subtle shift happening between the koch network. they are not happy with what they see. they are trying to shed this partisan image that they have, they are not h

to court they stand accused of illegally shipping weapons to conflicts a heckler and koch trial. is not using that too often it's historic it's a really historic because it shows the i would call it blasphemy this sinking of etiquettes of the german government because the german people eagle on shipments they're accused of include sixteen batches of g thirty six assault rifles some of which ended up being used in a tragedy which shook the world. in two thousand and fourteen forty three students became collateral in mexico's bloody war on drugs when they were kidnapped by corrupt police who handed them over to the new tory is guerrero sunita was drug cartel at least several of the students were killed by the heckler and koch rifles the company is incredibly hostile the media interest in public attention it didn't take long for the police to arrive to stop us from filming in the town's residents were particularly enthusiastic to speak to a seal we approached heckler and koch multiple times to discuss the allegations cited in this report unfortunately despite all our efforts. we're

as a heckler and koch how tired. they all met. germany gets a lot of praise for its reasonable approach to politics but the german government has a dirty secret while germany prides itself on having some of the toughest arms export laws on the planet it's actually the fourth biggest arms exporter in the world lawyer holder wrought by hour has taken one of the country's major on as manufacturers and one of the world's biggest small arms producers the infamous heckler and koch to court they stand accused of illegally shipping weapons to conflicts a heckler and koch trial. is not using that word too often it's historic it's a really historic because it shows the i would call it blasphemy this sinking of etiquettes of the german government because the german people even legal on shipments they're accused of include sixteen batches of g thirty six assault rifles some of which ended up being used in a tragedy which shook the world. in two thousand and fourteen forty three students became collateral in mexico's bloody war on drugs when t

lou: the koch brothers just blew their -- flew their true colors.e not republicans and consequence ror. they are not just anti-trump, they are anti-american worker. you can't have the most of liberal immigration policies in the world, welcome illegal immigrants by the hundreds of thousands across your borders without destroying the american worker, american business and the middle class of this country. charles koch * put every american family on notice it's his way or no way. he's declaring war against the american family. charles: the economic issue being used -- i said this friday was going to happen. soy beans weigh in on mid-term elections. if we could show this. this is how ridiculous mainstream rorkt is it's our largest export. period. it's $20 billion a year. that's $40 billion because it's half of everything the farmers grow is exported. the chinese are stealing $600 billion of intellectual property. you won't see those two numbers next to each other talking about china which is what started all this at all. it's a ridiculous proposition. t

drug cartel at least several of the students were killed by the heckler and koch rifles the company is incredibly hostile the media interest and public attention it didn't take long for the police to arrive to stop us from filming the town's residents were particularly enthusiastic to speak to as we approached heckler and koch multiple times to discuss the allegations cited in this report unfortunately despite all our efforts . we're very happy to see it it's. like wow. you don't want to say something. christine's i mean to get an export license german arms manufacturers have to go through several government ministries who will check that the shipment destination isn't subject to any sort of ban by german law if it is in the forms company's application fails then they have another option they can appeal to the federal security council and here's where things get interesting this council is made up of a handful of senior ministers who sit down with the german chancellor angela merkel in a secretive meeting where they review the application and decide whether to approve it or not the det

haven't espoused the policies they promised the kochs they would. there's -- it's about tone and it's about their policies. they're not happy with the tariffs. they're not happy with government spending. they're not happy with the family separation of the border, the lack of a daca deal. all these things have reallying a gaited the koch network and the elected -- the top brass of this network. they say that this is a warning shot to republicans that you need to get on board or we're not going to support you. >> so when these officials are describing these koch officials, the president and the administration is toxic as destructive, what was the reaction in the room? what was your take away about -- is this all about taking down the president? was this about something else? >> yeah. it's interesting. i think this is a warning shot to republicans and to the president to say look, these are not traditional republican and conservative ideology that we support. the reaction in the room, we'll see. it's mixed. it's tightly controlled. we were able to spea

let's talk about the koch brothers for a moment.ll of a sudden the president is going to war with the koch brothers, who have been among the most ardent supporters of republicans over the years. the president tweeting this morning the koch brothers are total jokes, their network is highly overrated. he says, these are two nice guys with bad ideas. how risky is it to all of a sudden go to war with the koch brothers who have provided so much money to various conservative think tanks and influential organizations? >> look, they've never been trump fans. they disagree with him on almost every piece of economic policy, especially tariffs, for example. they made the case that we're going to support candidates, either democrat or republican, who support us. this is a big rift in the republican party. they were so dependable for republicans. they're not trump fans, period. i think the president just punched back. >> i hesitate to ever try to guess what is behind some of his tweets, but if he were to calculate this, you're not going to stop

with general kelly at his side, president trump is going to war with the powerful koch brothers, whore waging a campaign against the present strategy of using tariffs to leverage new trade deals. >> because of new tariffs, our farmers livelihoods are at risk. carmakers, factory workers and macs you don't like manufacturers. farmers want trade, not aid. tell the administration and congress, open market and end tariffs. >> president trump took a blow torch to them, tweeting they have become a total joke in real republican circles, that he has beaten them at every turn and that they are two nice guys with bad ideas. and it's not just tariffs. the network recently announced its willing to bet democrats over republicans if the democrats policies more closely align with the coke agenda. a spokesman saying we support policies that help all people improve their lives. we look forward to working with anyone to do so. on monday the network announced it would not support republican kevin kramer, who is locked in a tight race with north dakota democrat senator heidi heitkamp. >> it was very disa

that is the antithesis of the very libertarian koch agenda. opposed to the government getting involved in anything that has to do with the market, so they just said, enough. and this is part of a pattern, although i think it's the most aggressive step that the koch brothers have taken, certainly the most aggressive step that the koch brothers have taken from sort of a passive resistance that you saw in 2016 when they just stayed out of the presidential politics. now what they are saying is we will punish republicans who go along with these policies, and that's a skirmish in this republican civil war, a magnitude of which we have not seen given how much money they have at their disposal. >> which really raises a good question about what is the trump strategy going to be about rousing the base. is it going to be shutting down the government? i don't think so. >> he said he's willing to go out six days a week if that's what it takes. will there be interest? >> and what else? is it calling brian williams and jeremy peters and jim warren the enemy?

because charles and david koch and koch brothers now, because david's retired, but charles has come out and explained, you know, they're basically libertarian economic thinkers. they don't focus much on the social issues. they have a network of organizations that really educate voters about their policies and free market and charles has this really interesting idea. because as technology causes disruption of course in economies, uber's a great example of that, it causes did i rup disruption in our politics too. we're in this tumultuous time of we don't know the future of automation. wages have often been stagnant. people say because there's so much automation coming into -- >> yes. >> we're in that period. and david and charles koch have always said we always end up in a better place. we need a leader to articulate that better place from washington. and trump represents sort of a retro view. he talks about coal and coal jobs and manufacturing. even his own real estate business is hugely disrupted by technology because people don't occupy -- >> traditional hotels. >> they can work almost

i'm with koch industries, and we i have been fortunate to work there for 23 years. and we have hired people with criminal records since i have been with the company going on 23 years. and we continue to do it to this day. we do it because it is the right thing to do, but we do it, because it gives us the competitive average we feel. you are looking at the current criminal justice system which is the ultimate big fail program by the government, and pick to win and lose, and if you are all right, you will be okay, because it treats them better than the poor and the innocent, so looking at the number of people in the country with the criminal record, some estimates are 1 in 3 and 1 in 3 people have a criminal record where not so many have a college degree in the country, and from the perspective of the employer or the global employer like us with 120,000 employees around the world, and if we were to say, no, we are not going to be looking at the applicant pool, that is stupid. this is about from our perspective and removing the barriers to opportunity, and eliminating

received at least $500,000 from koch-affiliated groups.energy and environment legal institute, by the way, is a particularly creepy group whose function is actually to harass legitimate scientists. that is actually what they do. another super classy group. you can understand why they would all want to be affiliated with them. the western energy alliance, an oil and gas industry trade association. the group's website promises its fossil fuel members that it will, quote, actively influence regulatory actions and legislation on behalf of your business. end quote. no mystery who's behind this group,s about, as usual, -- group, but, as usual, funding details are hidden. the cornwall alliance. the cornwall alliance funders are secret, and when i tell you a little bit more about it, you can see why they would want to be secret. but i can tell you have -- you i have seen this bogus front group showing up on the odd ball fringe with other front groups funded by big oil. once more, the cornwall alliances founder doesn't believe in evolution, thinks

that's why koch allied organizations and officials are working so hard to limit voting by those most likely to oppose their agenda. including african-americans and lat nos and low income whites and young people of all groups. . fourth, elected officials do not care about the common good. they only care about getting re-elected using other people's money to dole out favors to ensure that. that's why we have deficits even in times of pros spert. fifth, because the people cannot be trusted to restrain claims on the wealthy and elected officials cannot be trusted with the power to tax and spend, iron clad binding restraints must be put on both. the nobel prize winning economist whose ideas have been weaponized, buchanan, said the changes were so extensive they amounted to in his words a constitutional revolution. that revolution would put shackles on what government can do, including by making mandatory balanced budgets, making balanced budgets mandatory, congressional term limits and limiting the right to vote and requiring vast super majorities for any change of substance after the con

the koch members are raising the bar.influential they are, they plan to spend $400 million in the two-year election cycle. a shift for the party. >>> ahead, lebron james taking on the president's attitude toward athletes. >> he is trying to take on our sport. >> what else king james says about the national anthem protest. ahead on "early start." gs to know about medicare. mport first, it doesn't pay for everything. say this pizza is your part b medical expenses. this much - about 80% - medicare will pay for. what's left is on you. that's where an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company comes in. this type of plan helps pay some of what medicare doesn't. these are the only plans to carry the aarp endorsement for meeting their high standards of quality and service. so call unitedhealthcare insurance company today and ask for your free decision guide. with this type of plan, you'll have the freedom to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. and when you travel, your pla

the way charles koch and david koch look at the world, it's about fundamental liberty, and are moving barriers to opportunity so we can have a society where the external barriers, whether it is a criminal justice system that is way too much, over criminalization, the number of laws we have, the long sentence is not based on data but just based on fear we are looking at all of those things with data-driven practices. and for us at koch is about helping people improve their lives, and it has been a major impediment to a lot of people in this country. we have 2 million people are so in prison today, they all have criminal records, we treat people who have been incarcerated with such stigma and make them second-class citizens. it is not healthy. it is not right. and we are losing a lot of competitiveness abroad as well. there is a huge scale gap in this country for skilled labor for companies like ours. and now you're seeing a lot of train people so that they can come out better. and the bottom line, at the end of the day, the criminal justice system is designed to keep people and communi

what they don't want is the koch brothers or others to take away their powers and rights. that's where were seeing. people are not dropping, their joining. you hear the defiance in my voice, it is because people are sticking to their union because they understand that what we can do together is impossible for people to do alone. thank you. >> we have the ranking member on the health education committee and a senior member of the democratic leadership in the senate. >> thank you. i just want to say few things. thank you for organizing this and for witnesses for being here today. and to share your stories on house dark interest money campaigns are hurting our economy, we know that for more than a century unions have organized to lift up the voices of average workers who otherwise would not be heard and look at their benefits, we know that unions help create the 40 hour workweek and strengthen the middle class, they are essential part of our families in this country. we know that unions are empowering workers every day to have a better workplace, better pay and including the

the co-chair of the koch brothers is brian hooks.stapled was offered up. -- this statement is offered up. the difficuvisiveness of the wh house is causing long-term damage. how is the koch brothers break which is not on board with the conservative principles? >> it undercuts the enthusiasm. the koch brothers are desperate to change the gop. they don't want a trade war republican party. that's the last thing they want. the big problem with one tweet, the president can wipe away the advantage they bring with $400 million. that is what they are facing in the next few months. >> that one tweet point. is that what we saw with the threat of the shutdown? republicans are content to run on the economy. they know everything can be thrown off guard with this one tweet like it was with the shutdown. >> right. that unsettles candidates. that is the last thing you want. usually politics shuts down in august and doesn't kickoff again in january. that will not happen. it will be a dynamic election. again, the odds are in favor of the democratic par

and we know that over the weekend the koch brothers broke with trump.ow he thinks the koch brothers have become a total joke in real republican circles. and i'm just wondering if warring with the deep-pocketed koch brothers is the answer for the republicans let alone this president. >> well, the base, again, i mean, that old shoot somebody down fifth avenue thing that trump said seems to hold. whether its -- turning away from family values or cozying up to putin or free trade, you know, the base, including people that have been stalwart republicans for decades, they seem to be standing by trump no matter what he does. >> adam smith in tampa, thank you so much. we'll look for the president down there in just a little while. >>> meantime, they are untraceable, undetectable and starting tomorrow, you could download and print a firearm at home. the president tweeted out that he may have some concerns. so let's talk to the connecticut attorney general who is one of several states suing to stop this. >>> and after his face-to-face historic meeting with kim jo