News

Trump Jr. campaign event looks for new venue after Montana restaurant declines to host

by Justin Wise 09/19/18 08:19 AM ET

A Republican campaign event in Montana featuring President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., is reportedly in search of a new venue after a restaurant declined to host the rally.

Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, an ex-Fox News personality, are scheduled to campaign for Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale in Bozeman, Mont. next week.

Rosendale had announced on Tuesday that the Midtown Tavern would host an event where Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle would speak.

But the manager of the restaurant, Jeff Wilcox, has said that he won’t host the rally, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

“We definitely don’t want to take political sides. That’s never our intention,” Wilcox told the newspaper, adding that the announcement that the Midtown Tavern would host the rally was a miscommunication.

“That’s just not who we are. We just try to stay politically neutral,” Wilcox said. “We’re a restaurant.”

A spokesman for Rosendale, who is running against Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in the general election, told the Daily Chronicle that more than 200 people had reserved tickets for the event and that the campaign is currently looking for a new venue.

The Daily Chronicle noted that Trump Jr. has made a visit to Montana earlier this year to campaign for Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.).

In addition, the president has made multiple stops in Montana in recent months to campaign for Rosendale.

Earlier this month, President Trump spoke in Billings, Mont., to campaign for Rosendale, and took several shots at his Democratic opponent.

“Jon Tester will never drain the swamp because he happens to live in the swamp and he loves the swamp,” Trump said. “The problem is he’s never going to vote for me.”

Tester is among the 10 Democratic senators running for reelection in states Trump won in 2016. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as “likely” Democrat.