Thousands rally around Trump in Great Falls

The lines started forming before noon Thursday, hours before President Donald Trump’s scheduled 4 p.m. arrival at Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. As the temperature climbed, more and more red, white and blue-clad Trump enthusiasts milled around the fairgrounds, bearing the chants that would later echo throughout the arena: “Keep America Great” signs, “Lock Her Up” shirts, “Women for Trump” banners and the now trademark “Make America Great Again” hats.

Over the course of the afternoon, more than 6,600 people filled the arena to hear the president speak, along with appearances from his son Donald Trump Jr., U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont. Trump touted last year’s tax bill, military spending, immigration crackdowns and the American economy while decrying the Democratic Party, “crooked” media and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who is up for re-election in November.

Tester provoked Trump’s ire in April when, as a ranking member of the Senate’s Veterans Affairs committee, he publicly opposed Trump’s nomination to head the VA, Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, citing allegations of misconduct. “You deserve someone who doesn’t just talk like he’s from Montana,” Trump said from the stage after introducing Montana Auditor Matt Rosendale, who is running for Tester’s Senate seat. “You deserve a senator who actually votes like he’s from Montana.”

Trump took several shots against Tester throughout his speech, criticizing his support of the Affordable Care Act, opposition of bills restricting late-term abortion, voting against Trump’s Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch and his embrace of the “radical Democratic immigration agenda.”

“It’s time to retire liberal Democrat Jon Tester,” Trump said to screams from the crowd.

But while Trump named Rosendale the guest of the evening, many in the crowd — from the Flathead, from Montana, or from other states — traveled to Great Falls to see one person only: the president.

Some, such as Kate Rutierbories and her 11-year-old daughter, Maggie, of Great Falls, came for the chance to see the president — viewed daily on cable news or on Youtube — outside of a screen. “We’re here because we’re big supporters, but also because we’re small business owners in Montana,” said Kate, who noted that Trump’s tax bill had positively impacted her local ice cream truck business.

Others, such as Sylvia Walker and her family, took a long weekend to make the journey from Bakersfield, California. “We’re so excited” to see him in person, she said. “I like the way he works the crowd, it warms my heart.”

Judy Hogan, of Kalispell, drove four hours early Tuesday morning to cheer on the president’s agenda. Decked in red, white and blue with a “Keep America Great” sign, Hogan said she was hoping to see the president’s commitment to his most prominent promises. Her top priorities, she said, were that “he’s going to build the wall, that he’s going to keep his promise about a safe America. That he’s going to push forward on the Supreme Court justice, that he’s going to keep supporting our veterans the way he has.”

“Taxes and immigration are the two biggest [issues] for me,” she said, especially after living in Southern California for 25 years before moving to Kalispell.

Hogan said she was pleased to see Trump taking a hard stance in the campaign between Tester and Rosendale. “I think it’s fabulous. I think it’s about time that the Republicans start calling Democrats out for their lies.”

Hogan was joined on her trip by Artha and Dick Dunk, friends from Sunburst who made the trip to “see our fabulous president.”

“It’s not every day that you get to see the president in Montana,” said Dick Dunk. “I don’t agree with everything he says and does, but he’s doing something.”

Both Dunks said they knew less about Rosendale and Tester’s race, but weren’t inclined to support Tester, who Trump Jr. called “two-faced” to boos from the crowd. “From what we know, we think [Rosendale] will do well,” Artha Dunk said.

In his nearly hour-long speech, Trump addressed many of the Dunks’ and Hogan’s concerns — spending extra time decrying “open borders,” lamenting the “dishonesty” of the “fake news media” and praising the American economy. Speaking of illegal immigrants to cheers of “build that wall,” Trump called on the crowd to vote Republican in November. “We will throw them the hell out of our country,” he said of illegal immigration. “So this year in November if you want to save ICE and you want to save your law enforcement and military, you have to vote Republican.”

Meanwhile, outside the arena, over a thousand hopeful attendees were turned away as the arena reached capacity. A quarter-mile south, about 300 protesters bore signs protesting Trump’s rhetoric and policies.

The protest rally, organized by Laura Wight of Great Falls, operated separately from the Montana Democratic party and was called “Grab Him by the Hypocrisy.”

“The main motivation was just to say that hate and discrimination and bigotry are not something that we open our doors to, that we welcome in Great Falls or in Montana,” said Wight. “And also that we don’t need somebody here from another area telling us how to vote. Montanans are capable of deciding who to vote for on our own.”

Though Wight’s counter-rally drew protesters from around the state, the Flathead Democrats chose to skip a trip to Great Falls in order to participate in a “day of action” instead.

“In response to the president’s visit, Flathead Democrats are getting busy to knock on doors and make phone calls in support of a great number of candidates up and down the ballot,” said Lynn Stanley, chairperson of the Flathead Democrats.

“I think that ... honestly we can get more people out to canvas and to do something positive that way than we could getting people all the way to Great Falls,” she continued. “We’d rather redouble our efforts to talk to voters about why they should support Senator Tester and all our other candidates.”

Inside the event, Trump barely acknowledged the protesters, sticking instead to a familiar free-wheeling script of tax cuts, creating jobs, crowd sizes and patriotism. After winding through plans to create Space Force, the sixth branch of the American military, and cutting foreign aid to countries who vote against the U.S. in the United Nations, Trump appealed to the crowd with praise for Montana’s pioneer roots.

Montanans of the past “tamed the wilderness,” he said. “They didn’t have a lot of money. But they had faith, heart and grit. Above all else they loved their country and they loved their God.”

To roaring cheers, waving signs and feet stomping on the bleachers, Trump ended his remarks with words found at many of his previous rallies across the country. “We will make America wealthy again. We will make America strong again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again.”

Reporter Adrian Horton can be reached at ahorton@dailyinterlake.com or at 758-4439.