Trump Jr. headlines Republican rally in Kalispell
People wait in line outside a Get Out the Vote rally where Donald Trump Jr. was scheduled to speak in support of Steve Daines and the entire Montana Republican ticket at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell on Saturday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
The President's son, Donald Trump Jr., and guitarist Ted Nugent headlined a rally Halloween night in Kalispell in support of incumbent U.S. Sen. Steve Daines' re-election bid and Montana’s slate of Republican candidates.
The well-attended event was held at the Flathead County Fairgrounds outdoor grandstand.
Daines spoke for about 15 minutes, and noted the importance of his seat to the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. Republicans currently hold a slim 53-45 majority in the chamber, with a number of seats up for re-election.
Recent polls show Daines and Democrat challenger Gov. Steve Bullock in a tossup race.
“The eyes of the nation right now are on Montana,” he told the boisterous crowd.
He said he spoke to President Trump prior to the rally and “sent him strong, warm greetings from the Flathead.”
“He’s keeping a close eye on this state,” Daines said. “The President and I speak frequently. He knows and I know what’s at stake here in Montana.”
Daines called his Senate seat “the firewall for freedom in the U.S.”
Daines spoke of his record on the Second Amendment, his pro-life stance and his support for recently confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett. He did not mention the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guitarist Ted Nugent performed the national anthem before Trump Jr. took the stage, a flatbed truck with hay bales and the Montana and U.S. flags as a backdrop.
Trump Jr., who has campaigned for Republicans in the Flathead in previous elections, hit on familiar Trump-rally themes. He spoke at length about allegations against Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, and frequently criticized the news media and social media platforms as unfair, saying “the deck is stacked” against the president.
He said his father had ushered in a new Republican Party, with candidates who are “warriors.”
“We need fighters … people who will fight for Donald Trump,” he said.
“Donald Trump cannot do this by himself.”
The President did not make a campaign stop in Montana on behalf of Daines after four visits to the state in 2018 in a failed effort to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.
Daines has been accompanied on the campaign trail this fall by Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Halley, and U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Marco Rubio of Florida.
In a press release Sunday morning, the Flathead County Democratic Central Committee criticized Daines for holding the rally amid surging cases of COVID-19 in the valley, calling it a “Halloween super-spreader” event.
The county reported 760 active cases Saturday, including 26 hospitalizations.
Flathead County Democratic Central Committee Chair Lynn Stanley pointed to a recent study from Stanford University that linked Trump’s campaign rallies to thousands of virus cases and hundreds of Covid-related deaths.
“How many more Flathead County residents will die because Senator Daines and Donald Trump Jr. held this event?” Stanley stated.
Bullock's campaign also criticized Daines for appearing at a large campaign event Thursday in Hamilton, saying attendees appear to have flouted social distancing and masking guidelines aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
The U.S. Senate race in Montana has seen more than $118 million in spending between the two candidates, by far a record for the state.
According the Associated Press, by the time the election is over the two campaigns and outside groups are expected to spend a combined $184 on advertising for each of the state’s 729,000 registered voters.