BOZEMAN, Mont. — Former President Donald Trump came to Montana to stump for Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, making sure to bash Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Jon Tester, Mr. Sheehy’s vulnerable Democratic foe in the Treasure State.
Indeed, the change at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket became a focal point for many of the speakers Friday night. Mr. Trump’s rally was his first since Ms. Harris was officially anointed as the Democratic nominee and since she tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.
After telling the jam-packed crowd at Montana State University’s Brick Breeden Fieldhouse that he must “like Tim Sheehy a lot to be here,” Mr. Trump attacked Ms. Harris, poking fun at the pronunciation of Kamala and blaming her for the flood of illegal immigrants at the southern border.
He vowed that he would “evict crazy Kamala” and argued she’s “easier to beat” than President Biden, whose exit from the race after a disastrous debate performance in June paved the way for her to ascend to the top of the ticket.
“Kamala is grossly incompetent, and in my opinion has a low IQ, but we’ll find out more about her IQ during the debate,” the GOP nominee said.
Though much of the rally in Montana, a state that Mr. Trump handily won in 2016 and 2020, was devoted to criticizing Ms. Harris, the former president briefly railed against Mr. Tester.
He accused the Democrat, who’s running for a fourth term in the Senate, one of the “biggest phonies in American politics” particularly for voting against many of the former president’s border and energy policies and largely voting lock-step with Mr. Biden.
Before Mr. Trump took the stage, Mr. Sheehy appeared, bashed Mr. Tester’s voting record and blasted Ms. Harris’ record-breaking amount of tie-breaking votes in the Senate for liberal policies.
“The reason I’m running for this seat is very simple,” Mr. Sheehy said. “When I understood the importance of this race, when I understood that control of the United States Senate came down to this seat, it was clear that my new path of service for this country was in the U.S. Senate.”
Mr. Trump’s first visit to Montana during this election cycle was almost derailed by mechanical issues with his plane, known as Trump Force One, which had to land in Billings.
The friendly crowd of over 8,000 passed the time between speakers doing the wave and swinging their phone flashlights like lighters to the music.
Mr. Trump is no stranger to stumping for candidates trying to beat Mr. Tester. As president in 2018, he logged four trips to Montana when Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale ran unsuccessfully against the senator.
Mr. Tester has proved to be a difficult foe to beat, winning three tight elections in a state that has morphed from purple to GOP red. Indeed, Republicans believe Mr. Sheehy will finally get it done. He was hand-picked by Montana’s other senator, Steve Daines, to run against the incumbent.
Mr. Daines, who dubbed the rally “Sen. Jon Tester’s retirement party,” told reporters before taking the stage that he convinced Mr. Trump to return to Montana in support of Mr. Sheehy.
The lawmaker said he explained the importance of securing the Senate majority to the former president, arguing that any presidential appointment must go through the upper chamber.
“You can imagine if President Trump had to call Chuck Schumer and try to figure out how to get his nominees through, so that’s why Montana’s very important because this becomes the 51st seat now that we’ve won West Virginia,” Mr. Daines said.
Indeed, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is expected to clinch retiring Democrat/independent Sen. Joe Manchin III’s seat in November, which would see Republicans and Democrats tied for control of the chamber, unless they prevail against Mr. Tester.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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