Vance Rallies for Montana Republicans in Belgrade Ahead of November 3 Midterms
Photo: Washington ExaminerVice President JD Vance spoke Monday at an airplane hangar in Belgrade, Montana, to rally support for Republican candidates, just over a week before the November 3 midterm elections. He backed House candidate Aaron Flint and Senate candidate Kurt Alme. Flint is running in Montana's 1st Congressional District against Democrat Sam Forstag to replace outgoing Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican. Alme faces independent Seth Bodnar and a Democrat. An Emerson College poll conducted October 12-14 found Forstag leading Flint 50 percent to 46 percent among likely voters. Vance said his administration had cut visa fraud and opposed replacing American workers with low-wage foreigners, and he said President Donald Trump closed the border on Day 1. After Zinke complimented Vance's blue eyes, Vance joked that Trump had been noticing the physiques of everybody lately. During the event, Vance also mispronounced the name of the state capital, Helena, and the crowd groaned. Vance, Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson have all visited Montana over the past two weeks. A Carroll College political scientist told Newsweek the visit could matter at the margins.
The Washington Examiner, on the right, leads with Vance's closing argument that the election is about American sovereignty. It quotes his remarks on visa fraud, jobs, safe streets for children of any race and Trump's border actions, and it lists the Montana visits by Vance, Trump and Johnson. It does not mention the gaffe or the poll in the excerpt. Raw Story, on the left, covers the same rally but leads with the crowd groaning at the Helena mispronunciation, using a mocking headline and describing it as a MAGA rally. It does not mention Vance's policy argument in the excerpt. Both agree on the setting, the date and that Vance was campaigning for Republican midterm candidates. They differ on whether the substance of his speech or a verbal slip is the story. Newsweek, the alternative outlet, takes a separate angle: Vance's physique joke, Trump's recurring remarks about physiques, and the Emerson poll.
How the sides differ Right sources stress Vance's sovereignty and border message; left sources focus on a crowd groaning at his Helena mispronunciation; alternative sources highlight his physique joke and the race polling.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
Raw Story leads with the crowd's groans when Vance mispronounced Helena at what it calls a MAGA rally, focusing on the video moment rather than his policy message.
Newsweek focuses on Vance's joke about Trump noticing physiques, ties it to Trump's recent comments, and adds the Emerson poll and a Carroll College professor's view of the race.
The Washington Examiner leads with Vance's sovereignty message, quoting his lines on visa fraud, American jobs, safe streets and Trump's border actions, and notes the Montana visits by Trump and Johnson.