A political network backed by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch is running ads saying that former President Donald Trump is a drag on the GOP and it’s time to move on.
The Americans for Prosperity Action Super PAC cites polling that shows 60% of Americans don’t want Mr. Trump to be president again.
“The American people are ready to move on,” an ad says.
Another ad says President Biden desperately wants to face Mr. Trump again in 2024, so Republicans should look elsewhere.
“What’s Biden’s secret weapon? Donald Trump as the GOP nominee. Then Biden wins the White House and gets the House and Senate, too. It’s easy to see why Democrats want Trump. It’s Biden’s ticket to reelection,” the narrator says.
The digital ads target voters in the key primary states of Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Nevada, according to CNBC, which got a first glimpse of them this week.
Mr. Koch is a well-known backer of GOP candidates and causes. He notched wins during the Trump administration in the form of tax cuts and conservative nominees to the Supreme Court.
Yet he sharply divided with Mr. Trump over trade issues, and the new ads suggest the Koch empire sees Mr. Trump as a losing bet.
Some Republicans have faulted Mr. Trump for electoral losses in 2018, 2020 and 2022, and he faces mounting legal troubles.
Mr. Trump says a New York indictment alleging he falsified business records and federal charges over classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida amount to a witch hunt designed to thwart his political ambitions.
He still dominates early polling, with double-digit leads over his nearest GOP primary rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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