In other news, the Koch Brothers' Americans for Prosperity PAC announced that they will not support Representative Kevin Cramer's (R) bid to unseat Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D) because he won't oppose Trump's trade war, among other reasons.
Speaking to the network's backers Monday, the final day of their summer meeting in Colorado Springs, [AFP President Tim Phillips] criticized Cramer for his support of a $1.3 trillion spending measure earlier this year and his reluctance to take on the White House on trade and tariffs.
Meanwhile, Trump lashed out at the Koch Brothers in response this morning.
The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total 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. They love my Tax & Regulation Cuts, Judicial picks & more. I made.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018
The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total 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. They love my Tax & Regulation Cuts, Judicial picks & more. I made.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018
Trump did, in fact, seek their support in 2016. They sat out the election.
Finally, German magazine Der Spiegel reports that the German government's overall strategy for dealing with Trump is to form a new alliance of western and western-aligned nations including the likes of Australia, Japan, and South Korea that will sign new trade deals and a strategic partnership later this year.
If that hadn't been the case before, the Brussels NATO summit -- where the U.S. president threatened to withdraw from the Western defense alliance -- and his later description of the European Union as a "foe," cemented the conviction in Berlin, Brussels and Paris that alliances mean nothing to Trump. The U.S. has transformed from a "source of order" into a "destroyer of order," according to sources within the German government. [...]
The strategy won't likely be fully formed until the end of the year, but the allies have already been determined. In addition to Japan, they are likely to also include South Korea, which [German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas] will also be visiting this week. Both countries would like to sign wide-ranging free trade agreements with the EU.
Maas is also considering South Africa, Australia and Argentina as strategic partners, as well as, of course, the U.S.'s two neighbors, Mexico and Canada. In late August, Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to be a guest at the German Foreign Ministry's Ambassadors Conference in Berlin.
The story goes into more detail which paints a fairly convincing picture of what the near future could look like with the Germans supporting the creation of an EU "defense union" (read: EU military) that could defend itself regardless of what Trump does.