With midterms looming, Vice President JD Vance rallies Montana Republicans in Belgrade

BELGRADE — Drumming up enthusiasm for Montana’s Republican candidates for federal office, Vice President JD Vance cited tax cuts and other cost-of-living achievements as Trump administration successes while briefly acknowledging high gas prices and rising inflation at a rally in Belgrade Monday, 

The vice president spoke during the final 30 minutes of the two-hour rally to boost Republican candidates Aaron Flint and Kurt Alme. Flint is in a statistical tie with Democrat Sam Forstag in Montana’s Western U.S. House District. Alme leads in a four-way race to replace incumbent U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, but has yet to reach 50% in polling. Eastern District incumbent Rep. Troy Downing was briefly mentioned by several speakers, but didn’t play a role in the event.

“Under Donald Trump’s leadership, we got real tax cuts for working people. We got no taxes on overtime. We got no taxes on Social Security, and we got no taxes on tips,” Vance said, drawing applause from a crowd of about 1,500 people at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport.

Vance reminded the audience that prescription drugs have become cheaper under the Trump administration. 

The vice president never directly mentioned the war with Iran.

He broadly blamed rising gas prices on conflicts initiated by other countries. 

“They skyrocket every time some tin-pot dictator decides to throw a tizzy,” Vance said. “You got to remember that the Democrats’ solution to this problem is to whine and build windmills.”

Flint, who spoke at the end of a long line of Montana politicians, talked about his service in the U.S. Army Reserve, interweaving that experience with his time over the last two decades as a radio talk show host before pivoting to his ambition to reform Congress. 

“We got politicians back there, frankly in both parties, that are getting rich off the backs of taxpayers. And that’s why I immediately called for a ban on congressional stock trading. And we’ve got to pass a balanced budget amendment.” That last proposal has been a popular but unfulfilled promise for several elected Republican officials, past and present. 

In July, the House passed the “Stop Insider Trading Act,” which would ban members of Congress, their spouses and children from purchasing individual stocks.

Alme touted his time as Montana U.S. district attorney during Trump’s first term and again in March 2025.

“In Montana, we went after violent criminals and drug trafficking gangs all the way up to the cartels to tear them out by their roots,” Alme said. “Democrats want to defund the police. In Montana, we don’t defund the police. We back the blue.”

The rally took place inside a private airplane hangar decorated with two F-5 fighter jets owned by NASA administrator Jared Isaacman. On social media, some observers mistakenly suggested that the jets were government-owned and shouldn’t be used for a partisan campaign event. The planes are part of Isaacman’s “Ghost Squadron,” a private aerobatic fleet located at the airport. 

The north-facing doors of the hangar were open to the elements. The temperature was 35 degrees at the start of the rally. A giant American flag hung from two mobile cranes positioned outside.

Before Vance’s arrival on stage, several incumbent Montana politicians warned of a national dystopia if Democrats win control of Congress in November. Some invoked Trump talking points including the prospect of an America where communism, Muslims and transgender youth proliferate. Others added the current Parisian riots to their rhetorical arsenal.

U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy suggested that similar riots will spread to the United States if Republicans lose control of Congress.

“You don’t have to wonder about what the alternative is. You don’t have to be curious about it. You can turn on the news. Look what’s going on in Paris every single day,” Sheehy said. ”When 45 million migrants have flooded Europe in the last decade, and they’ve literally taken over a culture, they’ve taken over the economy, and they don’t answer to anybody except for themselves, and that’s what can happen here.”

Retiring Western District House Rep. Ryan Zinke, whom Flint is attempting to replace, suggested that Bozeman has become lawless under President Joe Biden, and that the county will slide into communism if Democrats win the midterms.

“Today, we face communism. Let’s just call it what it is. We fought against the communists, but I can tell you they’re here. The Democratic Socialist Party. Let’s not be fooled. It’s communism,” Zinke said. 

“You couldn’t even go to the Rocking R [Bar] or the alley because there were gangs. That’s what open borders bring. Over 20 million people. They emptied out prisons. They emptied out insane asylums. They’re criminals on the street. Not all, but you need to know who’s in this country and why. 

Gov. Greg Gianforte credited the Trump administration with closing the U.S. border with Mexico and cutting taxes.

“This choice is not about right versus left. It’s literally common sense versus crazy in this election,” Gianforte said. “The far left thinks that they have a chance in Montana, but we know that couldn’t be further from the truth. But seeing a crowd like this gives us comfort. Remember where we were just two years ago today. The border was wide open. Fentanyl was flooding our communities. Men were allowed to play in women’s sports.”