Big, burly Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who describes himself as a third-generation dirt farmer from “Big Sandy,” blasted the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) as “a bunch of jacka‑‑es” Monday for mocking his red Toyota Prius, which he uses to get around Washington.
Tester vented his frustration to HuffPost when asked about Republican attacks of his midsize plug-in hybrid, the model of which has become emblematic of latte-drinking liberals in the minds of some Americans skeptical of electric vehicles.
“I’ve got an ’86 Chevy. I got a 2018 GMC. I got a 2018 Honda Ridgeline. I’ve got a Celica. I’ve got a Peterbilt. I’ve got a ’67 International truck. I’ve got a ’96 International truck. I’ve got a ’78 GMC. Want me to keep going?” Tester told HuffPost when asked about Senate Republicans’ efforts to drum up Prius-gate.
“I’m gonna spend $10,000 this week on diesel filling my bulk tanks that I use for planting my crop in the ground. Does that make it OK now?” he told a reporter, with a dose of sarcasm.
The senior senator from Montana revealed in a 2020 memoir that he bought the Prius to get around D.C.
Republicans are now trumpeting his choice of car as an exposé.
Tester responded after NRSC communications director Mike Berg posted footage of Tester getting into his Prius at the Capitol, as if he were sneaking out of a motel.
“There aren’t a lot of dirt farmers in Montana who drive a Prius. Jon Tester has gone Washington,” NRSC spokesperson Maggie Abboud declared in a statement.
These campaign tactics aren’t sitting well with Tester.
“What a bunch of jacka‑‑es,” he told HuffPost when asked about an NRSC press statement trumpeting Tester’s use of a Prius as a “bombshell.”
Tester is also shaking his head over his Republican opponent, Tim Sheehy, trying to pass himself off as a real Montanan despite having moved to the state about a decade ago — which is like yesterday for Montanans who like to measure their roots in the state by generations.
“I have farm equipment that’s been in Montana longer than Tim Sheehy,” Tester quipped on the social platform X earlier this month.