The commander in chief, the GOP frontrunner and the billionaire
President Barack Obama, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and billionaire Charles Koch all sat down with CBS News this week to discuss a variety of issues ranging from the war in Syria to the influx of "dark money" in politics.
President Obama
In an interview with "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft, President Obama conceded that the U.S. program to train and equip moderate rebels in Syria failed, adding that he was "skeptical from the get go" that the U.S. could create a proxy army inside Syria.
"There aren't any silver bullets," Mr. Obama said. "And this is precisely why I've been very clear that America's priorities has to be number one, keeping the American people safe. Number two, we are prepared to work both diplomatically and where we can to support moderate opposition that can help convince the Russians and Iranians to put pressure on Assad for a transition."
Mr. Obama said that the U.S. had stalled the momentum of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and will continue to lead the effort to "get rid of" the extremists.
"But we are not going to be able to get rid of them unless there is an environment inside of Syria and in portions of Iraq in which local populations, local Sunni populations, are working in a concerted way with us to get rid of them," he said.
Donald Trump
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump also touched on the crisis in Syria, and was asked by "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson whether he would have used military force when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against his own people.
"The time to have done it would have been when he drew the line in the sand," he said. "I might have gone in."
Trump also said he supports the idea of a no-fly zone inside Syria.
"I love a safe zone for people. I do not like the migration. I do not like the people coming," he said. "Frankly, look, Europe's going to have to handle it."
Charles Koch
Charles Koch, a much-discussed figure in the world of business and political funding, agreed to his first in-depth TV interview with "CBS Sunday Morning" correspondent Anthony Mason at his Wichita home.
Charles and his brother, David, have helped fund a complex network of political action committees and advocacy groups. The network, which now rivals the Republican National Committee in its financial clout, will spend $300 million in this next election year.
Mason asked, "Do you think it's good for the political system that so much what's called 'dark money' is flowing into the process now?"
"First of all, what I give isn't dark," Koch said. "What I give politically, that's all reported. It's either to PACs or to candidates. And what I give to my foundations is all public information. But a lot of our donors don't want to take the kind of abuse that I do. They don't want these attacks. They don't want the death threats. So they aren't going to participate if they have to have their names associated with it."
Mason asked, "But do you think it's healthy for the system that so much money is coming out of a relatively small group of people?"
"Listen, if I didn't think it was healthy or fair, I wouldn't do it," Koch said. "Because what we're after, is to fight against special interests."