--- title: David Koch Says He Likes Scott Walker's 'Good-Hearted Character' description: "He's got a wonderful, good-hearted character that I admire immensely" canonical: https://time.com/3830670/david-koch-scott-walker-presidential-2016/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-22T01:34:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:27.913Z article:section: Politics og:title: David Koch Explains Why He Likes Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker og:description: "He's got a wonderful, good-hearted character that I admire immensely." og:url: https://time.com/3830670/david-koch-scott-walker-presidential-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: David Koch Explains Why He Likes Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker twitter:description: "He's got a wonderful, good-hearted character that I admire immensely." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # David Koch Explains Why He Likes Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Apr 22, 2015 1:34 AM UTC  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Apr 22, 2015 1:34 AM UTC Billionaire industrialist David Koch praised Scott Walker for his extensive union reforms and his “good-hearted character” Tuesday night, reinforcing the notion that the Wisconsin governor might enjoy the support of the noted conservative donor for his potential 2016 presidential bid. “I think he’s been a very successful governor, he’s reformed the union system in Wisconsin,” said Koch, who was attending the 2015 TIME 100 Gala in New York City. “He’s got a wonderful, good-hearted character that I admire immensely.” While the 2015 TIME 100 honoree is adamant that he is not yet officially endorsing any candidate, he had earlier signaled his support for Walker at a donor event in Manhattan on Monday, according to a report from the New York [_Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/04/20/koch-brothers-signal-support-for-scott-walker/). Koch and his brother Charles were [honored in this year’s TIME 100](http://time.com/3822767/charles-koch-david-koch-2015-time-100/) by another presidential hopeful, Senator Rand Paul. Koch praised Walker’s approach to public school education, and said he admired the way he has negotiated the unions in Wisconsin. He also said he thinks Walker has as much foreign policy experience as Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton, despite the fact that she served as Secretary of State. “He has as much knowledge about the Middle East as she does,” he said. When asked whether he thinks Walker could beat Clinton, Koch seemed unconcerned. “I’m not sure what Hillary’s political tactics are,” he said. “She’s got at long way to go.” ### See the Stars at the 2015 TIME 100 Gala  Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Emma Watson attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Toth—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Julianne Moore attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Lorne Michaels attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West, along with Amy Schumer, attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Faith Hill and Tim McGraw attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Amy Schumer attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  John Oliver attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Misty Copeland attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Jorge Ramos attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Barbara Walters attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Arianna Huffington attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Lindsey Vonn and Karlie Kloss attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Julianna Margulies attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Brian Chesky and Elissa Patel attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan—Sipa USA  Diane Von Furstenberg attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Padma Lakshmi attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Danny Meyer and Audrey Meyer attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  John Green and Sarah Urist Green attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Abby Wambach and Sarah Huffman attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Dr. Tom Frieden attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Ina Garten and Jeffrey Garten attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Chanda Kochhar attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Rupert Murdoch attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Arianna Huffington attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Jenji Kohan attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Lindsey Vonn attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Guests at the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Martha Stewart and Kim Kardashian West attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Larry Busacca—Getty Images for TIME  Bradley Cooper and Willie Geist attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Bradley Cooper and Emma Watson attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Laverne Cox attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Diane von Furstenberg and Julianne Moore attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Christopher Nolan talks to TIME reporter Nolan Feeney during the TIME 100 gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Jemal Countess—Getty Images for TIME  Kim Kardashian West attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Martha Stewart and Karlie Kloss attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  John Oliver attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Samantha Powers, Ronan Farrow, Mia Farrow, and Cass Sunstein attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Craig Venter and Elizabeth Holmes attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Bradley Cooper, Jane Boon, Norman Pearlstein attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan —Sipa USA  Faith Hill and Tim McGraw attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Barbara Walters and Diane von Furstenberg attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Larry Busacca—Getty Images for TIME  Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe and Kira Orange-Jones attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Arianna Huffington, Nancy Gibbs and Samantha Power attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Brian Grazer and guest attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Lee Daniels and Clara Watson attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Jemal Countess—Getty Images for TIME  Tim McGraw performs onstage during TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 Most Influential People In The World at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Apr. 21, 2015 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Bradley Cooper, Nancy Gibbs, Kanye West, and Kim Kardashian West attend the TIME 100 gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Kanye West performs at TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 Most Influential People In The World at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Apr. 21, 2015 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Kanye West performs on stage at the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Clint Spaulding—Patrick McMullan/Sipa USA  Julianna Margulies and Keith Lieberthal attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan —Sipa USA  George Lucas, Kanye West, and Elon Musk attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Bradley Cooper and Lorne Michaels attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Martha Stewart Kanye West attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan —Sipa USA  Laverne Cox, Kim Kardashian and Naomi Campbell attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan—Sipa USA  Marie Kondo, Julianne Moore and Jenna Lyons attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Laverne Cox poses with a TIME 100 gift bag as she attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. 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