{"id":41409,"date":"2024-10-01T12:11:11","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T16:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=41409"},"modified":"2024-10-01T12:14:02","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T16:14:02","slug":"montana-free-press-republican-candidate-called-racist-ahead-of-u-s-senate-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/10\/01\/montana-free-press-republican-candidate-called-racist-ahead-of-u-s-senate-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Montana Free Press: Republican candidate called &#8216;racist&#8217; ahead of U.S. Senate debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ioLt11Dh8JU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Montana PBS Debate: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/ioLt11Dh8JU>&#8216;You&#8217;re a big guy. Just apologize.&#8217;<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Conservative activist Charlie Kirk holds rally for Tim Sheehy in Missoula<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Ahead of Tim Sheehy\u2019s second debate with Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, the Republican candidate spoke at a rally held by a conservative student organization at the University of Montana.<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Tuesday, October 1, 2024<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Katie Fairbanks<\/div>\r\n<DIV class=\"source\">Montana Free Press<\/DIV>\r\n<DIV class=\"source-website\"><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/\">montanafreepress.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<p>MISSOULA, Montana &#8212; Ahead of Tim Sheehy\u2019s Monday night debate with Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, the Republican candidate spoke at a rally held by a conservative student organization at the University of Montana.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Sheehy and Turning Point Action founder and conservative activist Charlie Kirk discussed bureaucracy, the border and the U.S. military\u2019s withdrawal from Afghanistan and targeted Tester during the \u201cSave Big Sky Rally\u201d at the University of Montana\u2019s George &amp; Jane Dennison Theatre.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p>Before introducing Sheehy, Kirk spoke for about 15 minutes, describing a shift among young people toward the political right because of inflation and immigration.&nbsp; Kirk said a national movement rejecting \u201cradical Democrats\u201d includes people who may disagree on certain issues but agree on the big things.<\/p><p>\u201cWe agree that free speech is a bedrock of this country,\u201d he said. \u201cWe agree that when decisions must be made, citizens must always be prioritized above citizens of another country. \u2026 We believe that if you do not have a border, you do not have a country. An open border is not a border. We believe that God created men and women and that men don\u2019t belong in women\u2019s sports.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p><p>Tester is outspending Sheehy on advertising because the incumbent is \u201cperfect for California liberals,\u201d Kirk said.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Turning Point Action Presents the Save Big Sky Rally LIVE with Charlie Kirk and Tim Sheehy <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/b4vnuIO5H5\">https:\/\/t.co\/b4vnuIO5H5<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Turning Point Action (@TPAction_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TPAction_\/status\/1840865870819508729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p>Kirk told the crowd of several hundred that the opportunity to send \u201ctrue conservative\u201d Sheehy to the Senate will only be achieved if audience members tell family and friends to vote the entire ballot and \u201cmake sure Trump has a unified government to work with.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p>Sheehy said the most \u201cinsidious\u201d change during the last four years of the Biden administration is the growth of \u201cunaccountable bureaucracy.\u201d Restrictions on businesses and schools during the COVID-19 pandemic are a preview of what Democrats want America to look like, he said.&nbsp;<\/p><p>\u201cOur Constitution did not imagine an executive branch this overreaching and this aggressive in going after its own citizens,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s important we get back to a pro-business set of policies. It\u2019s more than just taxes. It\u2019s recognizing that businesses are the heart of the American spirit.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.montanafreepress.org\/election-guide-2024\/candidates\/tim-sheehy\/\">Sheehy<\/a>, a former Navy SEAL, spent about 10 minutes discussing his service in Afghanistan and the state of the U.S. military. Sheehy said it was his experience in the war and watching the United States\u2019 withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 that got him involved in politics.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cWe were there for 20 years and the government that we built lasted less than a day,\u201d he said. \u201cIf that doesn\u2019t scare you about how incompetent our own government has become, that they can\u2019t solve any problems, whether that\u2019s our border, whether it\u2019s health care, whether it\u2019s our budget or whether it\u2019s the foreign war we spent 20 years fighting, I don\u2019t know what\u2019ll scare you.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/10\/01\/montana-free-press-republican-candidate-called-racist-ahead-of-u-s-senate-debate\/timsheehycharliekirk\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-41415\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-attachment-id=\"41415\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/10\/01\/montana-free-press-republican-candidate-called-racist-ahead-of-u-s-senate-debate\/timsheehycharliekirk\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/01\/timsheehycharliekirk.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,675\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Tim Sheehy and Charlie Kirk\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Tim Sheehy and Charlie Kirk&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Tim Sheehy, left, speaks during a rally held by Turning Point Action at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, on Monday, September 30, 2024. Photo by Katie Fairbanks \/ Montana Free Press&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/01\/timsheehycharliekirk.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/01\/timsheehycharliekirk.jpg\" alt=\"Tim Sheehy and Charlie Kirk\"   class=\"size-full wp-image-41415\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Tim Sheehy, left, speaks during a rally held by Turning Point Action at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, on Monday, September 30, 2024. Photo by Katie Fairbanks \/ Montana Free Press<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>Sheehy said the military is seeing \u201crecord levels of non-readiness\u201d regarding its aircraft and ships and low recruitment. While the Department of Defense doesn\u2019t need more money, it needs less bureaucracy to spur innovation, he said.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Sheehy told the veterans in the room they have a responsibility to continue their service by getting involved to \u201csave this country on and before November 5th.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p><p>Kirk and Sheehy highlighted <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/tester-sheehy-senate-debate-montana-9fb43b441feb0087927120dfab453b5a\">the importance of the race<\/a> and its potential to flip the Senate to a Republican majority.<\/p><p>\u201cFor a state like Montana, the Senate is our most potent expression of political power in the nation, because we only get \u2014 now we have two Congressional representatives. We don\u2019t have a whole lot of say who becomes president. But we have just as much say in the U.S. Senate as New York, California and Florida. That\u2019s the great equalizer.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p><p>Sheehy acknowledged that while <a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2024\/09\/06\/sheehy-maintains-poll-lead-in-montana-senate-race\/\">Trump has a big lead in Montana<\/a>, his race with Tester is tighter because of voters who will split the ticket. He encouraged the crowd to talk to those voters and remind them that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tester.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/pr-8044\/\">Tester voted to impeach Trump<\/a> and voted against his cabinet and Supreme Court nominees.&nbsp;<\/p> <p>Kirk and Sheehy <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.montanafreepress.org\/election-guide-2024\/#voter-faq\">encouraged Montanans to vote early<\/a>. Sheehy said Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen is doing a \u201cfantastic\u201d job and that this will be Montana\u2019s most secure election.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just got this from inside <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SheehyforMT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SheehyforMT<\/a>&#39;s event with Charlie Kirk, happening now: Native protesters getting kicked out. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/mtpol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#mtpol<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/mtsen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#mtsen<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5Z82yjqZih\">pic.twitter.com\/5Z82yjqZih<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Hannah Rehm (@HannahRehm_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HannahRehm_\/status\/1840876083929104691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p>During his comments, Sheehy was interrupted twice, once by two protesters calling him a racist and later by another protester.<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2024\/09\/04\/montana-tribal-leaders-seek-sheehy-apology-for-racist-remarks\/\">Tribal leaders and community members have called for Sheehy to apologize<\/a> for references to Crow Indians and alcohol after audio recordings of the comments were published in late August. In a recent Fox News interview, Sheehy said the recordings were old and suggested they were edited to make him sound bad, <a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sheehy-doesnt-apologize-for-comments-says-recordings-chopped-up\/\">the Daily Montanan reported<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p><p>\u201cThese friends back here, they just called me a racist,\u201d Sheehy said during the rally on Monday. \u201cIt\u2019s like, you know what? I fought alongside Muslims, Jews, Hindis, every possible race you could imagine, I was in foxholes with them, in gunfights with them. We were covered in the same mud in the same spots.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p><p>About two dozen people protested outside the venue at the end of the event, chanting \u201cget your hate out of our state\u201d and \u201cshady Sheehy has to go.\u201d<\/p> \r\n<strong>Note: This story originally <a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2024\/09\/30\/conservative-activist-charlie-kirk-holds-rally-for-sheehy-in-missoula-ahead-of-debate-with-tester\/\">appeared on Montana Free Press<\/a>. It is published under a <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/3.0\/us\/\">Creative Commons license<\/a>.<\/strong>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Native people were removed from a conservative rally featuring Tim Sheehy, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Montana.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,14],"tags":[3786,354,94,75,56,335,243,25,249,55,61,85,91,5240],"class_list":["post-41409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-politics","tag-3786","tag-crow","tag-democrats","tag-donald-trump","tag-elections","tag-jon-tester","tag-media","tag-military","tag-montana","tag-native-vote","tag-racism","tag-republicans","tag-senate","tag-tim-sheehy","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/01\/timsheehycharliekirk.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-aLT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41409"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41418,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41409\/revisions\/41418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}