Both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris headlined campaign rallies on Friday, with Trump in Montana, and Harris and running mate Tim Walz in Arizona. Trump's visit was intended to drum up support for ousting the state's Democratic senator, but, per the AP, the former president's plane first had to divert to an airport on the other side of the Rocky Mountains due to a mechanical issue, according to airport staff. Trump's plane was en route to Bozeman, Montana, when it was diverted Friday afternoon to Billings, 142 miles to the east, according to Jenny Mockel, administrative assistant at Billings Logan International Airport. Trump continued to Bozeman via private jet.
- Montana rally: The former president came to Montana hoping to remedy some unfinished business from 2018, when he campaigned repeatedly in Big Sky Country in a failed bid to oust incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. On Friday, Trump kicked off his rally about 90 minutes behind schedule and immediately began lacing into Tester, whose challenger is Republican Tim Sheehy. "We are going to defeat radical left Democrat Jon Tester, he's terrible," Trump said. He also mocked him for being overweight and for insinuating he sometimes sided with the former president. "He voted to impeach me—that guy voted to impeach me," Trump said of Tester, whom he called a "slob" with "the biggest stomach I've ever seen."
- Arizona rally: Meanwhile, in the Grand Canyon State, Harris and Walz pulled a crowd in to Glendale's Desert Diamond Arena that her campaign says exceeded 15,000—her largest draw yet, per the New York Times. With guests that included Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly and his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, as well as Dem Rep. Ruben Gallego, now making a Senate run against Kari Lake, Harris focused her speech on abortion and immigation, and also appealed to Native American voters. "As president ... I will always honor tribal sovereignty and respect tribal self-determination," Harris noted.
- Walz riff: As for the Arizona rally's ample crowd size, the Minnesota governor used it to poke fun of Trump, per the Hill. After noting they'd had a good showing in Detroit a day earlier, Walz joked, "But Arizona—just couldn't leave it alone, could you?" He then added, "It's not as if anybody cares about crowd sizes or anything," seemingly referencing Trump's obsession with the same.
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