United States Vice President JD Vance addressed a crowd at the Bozeman International Airport in Belgrade, Montana, on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. The event was part of Trump 47 Committee activities, an effort by Republicans to support their candidates in battleground states. Vance headlined a group of Republican state and federal officials stumping for Congressional candidates Aaron Flint and Kurt Alme.
Vance spoke for about a half-hour, with a large flag displayed by two cranes behind him. He focused on giving “sovereignty” back to the American people. “If the Trump movement is about anything, it’s not just about beating Democrats,” Vance said. “As fun as that is, our movement is about restoring sovereignty to you, to the people who make this country.” His remarks ranged from farmland to DEI, and he also touched on race, the economy, and his time in the military.
“Sovereignty means that American homes and American farmland ought by right belong to the American people,” Vance said. “We have ended the tyranny of DEI and racial discrimination in jobs and in universities because I happen to believe that real sovereignty starts with the individual, and no person can be truly free when their government or their employer cares more about so-called white privilege than about promoting the American dream.” He added: “You have a rare opportunity to vote for Montana Patriots who believe in real sovereignty.” That message resonated with some, including Laura Doucette, an attendee at the event. “Amazing experience,” Doucette said. “Just made me proud to be an American to be in a small setting like that, and just hear the values we believe in.”
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Alme held an anti-fraud pledge during the event. Many speakers’ remarks also focused heavily on the border with Mexico, with Montana’s junior Sen. Tim Sheehy, a Republican, claiming there hadn’t been any “border crossings” since Trump took office. While the Pew Research organization has said that border crossings are at an historic low, between October 2024 and September 2025, there were 237,538 crossings according to the U.S. Border Patrol. Sheehy also pointed to protests in Paris, which he blamed on migrants moving to Europe. “They literally have taken over a culture, they’ve taken over economies, and they don’t answer to anybody except themselves,” Sheehy said. “And that’s what can happen here.”
Flint, running in the state’s western district, is in a competitive race with Sam Forstag, which two analysts have recently moved to a toss-up race. Alme, meanwhile, is favored in the U.S. Senate election against independent Seth Bodnar, Democrat Alani Bankhead, and Libertarian Kyle Austin. Bodnar was not mentioned by name during the event, though Vance did say that in the Senate race, Montanans “have not one, but two Democrats on the ballot.” Both Flint and Alme gave their last-minute campaign pitches, which hit issues of law and justice. “In Montana, we don’t defund the police. We back the blue, and that’s not just a promise,” Alme said. “That’s my record.” Flint also highlighted his military experience, which has been common among Montana politicians – Sheehy and Rep. Ryan Zinke are both veterans as well. “I watched my daughter born over a computer screen while I was deployed over in the Horn of Africa,” Flint said. “And then came back home and got to fight behind the microphone,” referring to his time as a conservative talk-show radio host.
