Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch says his expansive political network won't support Donald Trump, but the 80-year-old conservative icon insists he would not support Hillary Clinton, either.
Koch, a popular target of Democrats, called any rumour that he would back the Democratic presidential candidate "a blood libel".
"At this point I can't support either candidate, but I'm certainly not going to support Hillary," Koch told hundreds of donors gathered in a luxury hotel at the foot of the Rocky Mountains on Sunday.
With Election Day just three months away, Koch and his chief lieutenants were refusing to support the Republican presidential nominee, focusing their tremendous resources instead on helping the GOP win competitive Senate contests in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Koch's team barely mentioned Trump's name when asked repeatedly by the handful of reporters permitted to cover the exclusive weekend retreat.
"We think we can be most effective working on the Senate," said Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, a major player in the vast Koch network.
"We're not engaged on the presidential."
The comments came Sunday, Day Two of a three-day gathering for donors who promise to give at least $US100,000 ($A133,235) each year to the various groups backed by the Koch brothers' Freedom Partners - a network of education, policy and political entities that aim to promote a smaller, less intrusive government.
The ambitious Koch network has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to influence politics and public policy over the last decade.
The network planned to invest heavily in the 2016 presidential contest, but sharply changed its course after Trump became the Republican standard-bearer.
Koch on Sunday .described his first priority as "to preserve the country's financial future and to eliminate corporate welfare"
"Since it appears that neither presidential candidate is likely to support us in these efforts," he said, "we're focused on maximising the number of principled leaders in the House and Senate who will."
Trump has been embraced by many Republican voters, but the Koch network is refusing to accept deep policy differences.
The libertarian-leaning Koch opposes Trump's position on immigration, trade, minimum wage and criminal justice reform.
Trump's dire warnings of growing crime in America simply aren't accurate, said Mark Holden, general counsel and senior vice president of Koch Industries.
The day before, Trump thumbed his nose at the Koch gathering from Twitter.
"I turned down a meeting with Charles and David Koch," the New York billionaire tweeted. "Much better for them to meet with the puppets of politics, they will do much better!"
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