Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/tag/donald-trump/page/8/)
I told myself I wouldn’t write about Donald Trump again. But if I may quote the late Jim Harrison, writing in another context entirely, “it was like trying not to think of a white horse.” Trump is lodged so firmly in my mind, and in the minds of millions of my fellow Americans, that love him or hate him it is hard not to think about him. (more…) Continue Reading →
Montana is a beef-raising state, and supporters of Donald Trump came to MetraPark on Thursday ready for red meat. Trump, speaking for about 50 minutes before perhaps 6,000 people in Rimrock Arena, served up several helpings in a characteristically rambling speech that consisted in large part of an account of his remarkable rise from political neophyte to the Republican nomination for president of the United States. (more…) Continue Reading →
I’m not sure what I was expecting when I went to the Donald J. Trump rally Thursday afternoon, but I wasn’t expecting anything quite so low key. There were probably 6,000 or 7,000 people on hand, and while they waved signs and cheered loudly enough, it seemed to me that they were mostly excited about the fact that they were finally able to attend a Trump rally, rather than passionate about Trump himself. What was even more surprising was that Trump seemed so much less menacing in person. All the comparisons with Hitler seemed ludicrous. He’s no Hitler and he’s no Mussolini. Continue Reading →
Skylar Petrik has some misgivings about Donald Trump, but he can’t wait to cast his first vote in a presidential election for the billionaire developer. Petrik, an 18-year-old from Sidney, flew his Cessna-172 to Billings for the Trump rally in the MetraPark arena Thursday afternoon, and he brought two friends with him. (more…) Continue Reading →
Former President Bill Clinton showed some of his old political touch in Billings on Friday, but he told a crowd at Middle James Middle School that this year’s presidential campaign is not about the past. “I’m not trying to take you back in time,” he said. “I’m getting you to look forward.” (more…) Continue Reading →
Politico predicts that Donald Trump should easily win Montana this fall, and quotes Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., as saying that he hopes to be able to work with Trump if that happens. “He’s got some pretty goofy opinions, but hopefully we’ve got some stuff we can work on,” Tester said. Continue Reading →
Reports last week that Donald Trump called media outlets years ago claiming under another name to be his own publicist brought back memories of my first encounter with Donald Cyphers. While I have never been as obsessed with Cyphers as Ed Kemmick is, I wrote a series of columns for the Billings Outpost about his legal and financial irregularities after he took over the weekly Lockwood Crier and converted it to the Montana News Association. For a while, I was Cyphers’ Enemy No. 1. Those columns are no longer available on the web (you can find a few quotes here) but I recall that when I first heard about the change in ownership of the Crier, I called and was connected to a man who identified himself as “Mark Johnson.” Continue Reading →
Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons delivered the commencement speech at the University of Montana yesterday and I heard it went well. He’s a great actor and reportedly a great guy. Few schools are able to attract that kind of star power. Small high schools in particular are often thrown back on the unpleasant expedient of asking some local politician to speak, or just bagging the commencement speech altogether. (more…) Continue Reading →
I saw on Facebook the other day that a Trump-loving tow-truck operator in North Carolina refused to help a disabled woman whose car was inoperable, saying it was the Bernie Sanders sign in her window that prompted his decision. This gentleman, who calls himself a Christian, told local reporters, “Something came over me, I think the Lord came to me, and he just said get in the truck and leave. And when I got in my truck, you know, I was so proud, because I felt like I finally drew a line in the sand and stood up for what I believed.” (more…) Continue Reading →
Every couple of years when election season heats up, I write a column in defense of politicians. Don’t judge politicians so harshly, I argue. Yes, some are corrupt and some are liars, but it ruins democracy to paint them all with the same monochrome spray can. Not all politicians are ignorant and incompetent, I tell voters. (more…) Continue Reading →
