Trump's visit to Western Montana’s 1st District was aimed at boosting House candidate Aaron Flint, a former aide to retiring Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke, who was Interior secretary in Trump’s first-term Cabinet.
Flint’s opponent is Sam Forstag, a Democratic labor union leader and Forest Service smokejumper, a specialized firefighter who gets to fires by aircraft and parachute.
Forstag has said he supports expanding voluntary safe storage of firearms for people in a mental health crisis, but he describes himself as a gun rights champion and he says firearms are relied upon in Montana for hunting and staying safe.
Trump, speaking to a crowd of his supporters in a horse show arena in Kalispell, near Glacier National Park, called Forstag “extreme” and said Democrats “will take your guns away if we don’t keep it going.”
He noted that Republican candidates Kurt Alme, running for the Senate, and Aaron Flint, running for the House, have earned top ratings from the National Rifle Association.
Meanwhile, Democratic Senate candidate Alani Bankhead has earned an F, and Forstag was given a question mark by the NRA because he “refused to fill out a form,” Trump said.
