2024-08-10 06:32:02
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — Donald Trump traveled to Montana on Friday for a nighttime rally to drum up support to defeat the state’s Democratic senators, but the former president’s plane had to Rerouted to the other side of the airport, the Rockies malfunctioned due to a mechanical problem, according to airport staff.
Trump’s plane flew to Bozeman, Montana, on Friday night and then rerouted to Billings, 142 miles (227 kilometers) east, said Jenny Morkel, administrative assistant at Billings’ Logan International Airport. The former president continued his journey on a private jet.
The former president came to Montana hoping to tie up some unfinished business from 2018, when he campaigned repeatedly and failed to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. On Friday, Trump lashed out at the three-term Tester, mocking him for being overweight and suggesting he sometimes sided with the former president.
“He voted to impeach me. That guy voted to impeach me,” Trump said of Tester, who he called “lazy” and had “the biggest belly I’ve ever seen.”
Trump invited Texas Congressman and former White House physician Ronny Jackson to the stage, doubling down on his attacks on the senior Montana senator. Tester defeated Trump’s decision to nominate Jackson as Veterans Affairs secretary.
Tester is trying to convince voters that he stands with Trump on many issues, just as he did six years ago. While the strategy has worked in non-presidential election years, in November he will face a tougher test from former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, who is trying to tie his rival to the White House Candidates for the Democratic nomination, Vice President. ___
Associated Press writers Amy Beth Hansen in Helena, Montana, and Julie Smith in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
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