Daily Inter Lake reporter Taylor Inman was at the Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell for President Donald Trump’s Wednesday, Oct. 14 rally, speaking with attendees as they waited in line for the doors to open.

The rally was one of several late campaign stops ahead of the 2026 midterm election, held in a county where about 65% of voters backed Trump in 2024. Republican Aaron Flint, who is facing Democrat Sam Forstag in a western Montana congressional race considered a toss-up, was the guest of honor. Gov. Greg Gianforte, Reps. Troy Downing and Ryan Zinke and Senate candidate Kurt Alme all spoke ahead of the president.

Trump took the stage around 7:30 p.m., about an hour and a half behind schedule, and spoke for roughly an hour. He touched on Montana’s timber industry, the Colstrip power plant, a planned military testing range in the state, tariffs, inflation and the war with Iran. He closed by urging the crowd to vote in November.

In this episode, hear from the people who came out to see it.

Read Hailey Smalley's report from the event.

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