News

Actions

President Trump coming to Billings next week

Posted at 6:28 PM, Aug 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-30 00:21:14-04

HELENA – President Trump will be in Billings next Thursday for a campaign rally – his second in Montana in as many months, to boost Republican candidates.

The president will be at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark, speaking at 7 p.m., promoting Republican U.S. Senate candidate Matt Rosendale, who’s challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

“The rally will provide an excellent opportunity for President Trump to deliver an update on the benefits his historic tax cuts and economic policies are providing hard-working Montana families, his tough immigration policies and more,” said Michael Glassner, head of the president’s campaign organization.

The doors at the Billings arena will open at 4 p.m. Tickets for the public are available on the campaign’s website, https://www.donaldjtrump.com/rallies/montana-sep-2018.

Trump was in Great Falls July 5, when he headlined a similar rally on behalf of Rosendale. More than 6,000 people attended that event at the Four Seasons Arena, where Trump spoke for nearly an hour.

Montana’s two Republican congressional members, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte, also attended.

Tester’s campaign welcomed the president back to Montana, but said Wednesday that the rally “is another partisan political event rather than an opportunity to discuss some of the real issues facing Montana.”

Tester campaign spokesman Chris Meagher said Tester is working to pass a farm bill that benefits Montana farmers and ranchers, and has sponsored 19 bills that the president has signed into law, on a variety of issues.

The Trump White House indicated earlier this month that the president intends to be actively campaigning this fall in the midterm elections, particularly in states featuring competitive U.S. Senate races.

Republicans hold a 50-49 edge in the Senate, but Democrats are defending numerous seats in states won by Trump in the 2016 election.

Trump won Montana by 20 percentage points and Tester, a Democrat running for a third consecutive term, is considered one of the more vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the nation.

He faces Rosendale, the state insurance commissioner, and Libertarian Rick Breckenridge in the general election.