by WorldTribune Staff, May 26, 2017
Is there a place in a PC world for pushy Republicans?
A Montana Republican who allegedly “body-slammed” a reporter is the winner in the special election to fill Montana’s vacant U.S. House seat.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, President Donald Trump shoved the leader of Montenegro at a NATO photo op, in a video that went viral. The upshot? The man he shoved thanked him for backing Montenegro’s entry to NATO.
All in all, a bad hair day for CNN.
Greg Gianforte on May 25 defeated Democratic opponent Rob Quist just 24 hours after the GOP candidate had been charged with misdemeanor assault after a confrontation with Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs.
“I’m sick and tired of you guys,” Gianforte said in audio of the incident released by The Guardian.
Quist’s defeat was another in a string of losses for Democrats in special elections that the major media hyped as referendums on President Donald Trump. Republicans have won special elections in Louisiana, Kansas and now Montana.
Next month, candidates battle for House seats in special elections in California, Georgia and South Carolina.
The House seat in Montana became vacant after Trump nominated Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke to become Secretary of the Interior.
According to the Associated Press, with 95 percent of precincts reporting, Gianforte led 51 percent to Quist’s 43 percent. Nearly 70 percent of votes in Montana were cast early, before the alleged assault took place.
Speaking of physical altercations, the major media and social media went ballistic on May 25 over a video purportedly showing Trump shoving aside Prime Minister Dusko Markovic of Montenegro so that Trump could be at the front of the group of NATO leaders for a photo op.
As it turns out, Trump correctly made his way to the front of the photo. The Associated Press reported that according to the seating chart for the event, the president of the United States is supposed to be at the front of the photo, a longstanding tradition.
Montenegro’s representative was supposed to stand in the back of the photo since the country is slated to become NATO’s 29th member next month.
Markovic told reporters after the summit that he didn’t really mind the shove at all.
“It didn’t really register,” he said. “I just saw reactions about it on social networks. It is simply a harmless situation.”
Markovic used the attention he received after the incident to thank Trump for backing Montenegro’s entry into the alliance, the AP report said.
Speaking to supporters in Bozeman after his win had been called, Gianforte apologized for his actions, ABC News reported.
“When you make a mistake you have to own up to it, that’s the Montana way,” Gianforte said. “Last night I made a mistake… That’s not the person I am and it’s not the way I’ll lead in this state.”
“Rest assured, our work is just beginning, but it does begin with me taking responsibility for my own actions,” he added. “You deserve a congressman who stays out of the limelight and just gets the job done.”
The day after the alleged assault, House Speaker Paul Ryan condemned Gianforte’s behavior and called for him to apologize, but didn’t say he should withdraw from the race.
“There is no time where a physical altercation should occur with the press or just between human beings,” he told reporters. “So, that is wrong and it should not have happened.”
‘Sick and tired of you guys’: Montana Republican who lost his temper with reporter wins anyway added by World Tribune on
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