AP Interview: Billionaire Koch fed up with politics as usual

WASHINGTON (AP) — Billionaire Charles Koch, one of America's most influential conservative donors, said he is fed up with the vitriol of the presidential race and will air national TV ads that call on citizens to work together to fix a "rigged" economy that leaves behind the poor.

Koch, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, described Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton as part of personality politics at its worst.

The brothers steer hundreds of millions of dollars — their own money and from like-minded donors whose identities are largely kept private — into electoral politics and mostly Republican efforts at all levels of government.

With a campaign they're calling "End the Divide," the Kochs are taking a page from the playbook of other Republican leaders eager to talk about something other than their party's flame-throwing nominee.

The 60-second ad has the feel of something coming from a political candidate, with language that might appeal to supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Before directing viewers to an "End the Divide" website hosted by Koch Industries, the narrator says, "It's time to remove the barriers, to end the divide, to replace winner-take-all with a system where we all can win."

Koch said that because he's not a politician worried about the next election, he has the flexibility to make an issues-based appeal to Americans through ads, which will air starting Friday on national networks, cable channels and online.