(JTA) — Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch compared Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s plan to register all Muslims in the United States to Nazi Germany.
In a wide-ranging interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Koch called Trump’s reported idea of creating a database of all Muslims in the United States “reminiscent of Nazi Germany. I mean that’s monstrous, as I said at the time.”
Koch also said Trump’s proposal to put a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States was “antithetical to our approach” and called “frightening” comments made by another GOP candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, in which he talked about finding out if “sand can glow” — a reference to using nuclear weapons in the Middle East.
“That’s gotta be hyperbole,” Koch said. “But I mean that a candidate, whether they believe it or not, would think that appeals to the American people? This is frightening.”
Koch and his brother, David, have given more than $100 million to conservative and libertarian policy and advocacy groups in the United States, and are mega donors to the Republican Party and its candidates.
In the interview with Jonathan Karl, Koch also acknowledged that “it’s possible” that Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton would make a better president than the Republican candidates, who also include Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
“This Week” is hosted by George Stephanopoulos, a former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton.
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