Donald Trump launched a barrage of taunts about Montana Sen. Jon Tester’s weight during his rally on Friday night, just hours after he was accused of repeatedly calling Kamala Harris a “b***h.”
The 78-year-old former president criticized the Montana senator’s generosity as the Democrat faces a tough re-election battle in November in a race that could decide who controls the upper chamber of Congress.
“I don’t speak ill of someone’s physical disability,” Trump said, possibly noting that Tester lost three fingers on one hand in a meat grinder accident when he was nine.
“But he has the biggest stomach I’ve ever seen,” Trump added.
Donald Trump drew a large crowd in Bozeman, Montana, on Friday night, where he focused his remarks on the state’s upcoming Senate elections.
Trump lashed out at Democratic Senator Jon Tester, saying he “has the biggest stomach I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Scrutiny has fallen on Trump’s operation in recent days amid an apparent slowdown in the campaign, but the former president drew a large crowd at Friday’s event in Bozeman, Montana.
Insiders told The New York Times that they found the transformation following Biden’s withdrawal disorienting.
In response to the switch of rivals, behind closed doors, he reportedly called Harris a “bitch,” two people told the outlet.
His campaign denied such language in a statement, but his speed to attack has reportedly left him open to manipulation.
Trump’s attack on Tester’s weight was echoed by Texas Congressman Ronny Jackson, who called the Montana senator a “hippopotamus.”
While attacking Tester’s weight, Trump mobilized his supporters by criticizing the senator on issues ranging from the southern border to his voting record.
“For years, Tester has been telling Montana he’s a moderate,” he said. “While voting with Biden, Harris, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.”
Trump’s criticism of Tester’s “bigger belly” is not the first time he has attacked the Montana Democrat’s weight. He reportedly said Tester “looks pregnant” at a private fundraiser in May, according to Political.
He told the audience: “Have you ever seen this guy? He doesn’t look like a fat guy, except that his stomach is sticking out.”
The May fundraiser was in aid of Texas congressman — and former White House physician — Ronny Jackson, who also spoke at the rally in Montana on Friday night.
In his remarks in Bozeman, Jackson echoed Trump’s attack on Tester’s weight, calling him a “hippopotamus.”
Trump joked that he doesn’t “talk bad about someone’s physical disability,” possibly pointing out that Tester lost three fingers on one hand in a meat grinder accident when he was nine.
“This man is a sleazy, disgusting, swamp politician,” Jackson said. “The end of Jon Tester’s career begins tonight.”
‘We’re going to bring (Tester’s election opponent) Tim Sheehy into the Senate to replace this swamp hippo, Jon Tester.
Trump’s attention to Tester’s weight comes at a time when many have noticed that the former president appears to have lost weight in recent years, sparking speculation that he has joined a growing number of celebrities taking Ozempic.
Tester is seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate this election cycle, as a top incumbent in a state Trump won easily in the 2020 presidential race.
With control of the Senate currently split 50-50 and decided solely by Vice President Kamala Harris, the closely contested Senate races are drawing attention ahead of November.
Since Montana is typically a Republican-leaning state, Tester’s campaign has attempted to draw a clear line between himself and the Biden-Harris administration.
In a Tester campaign ad released earlier this year, it was stated that he “worked with Republicans fighting to close the border, crack down on fentanyl traffickers, and add hundreds of new Border Patrol agents.”
‘And he fought to stop President Biden from allowing migrants to stay in the United States instead of remaining in Mexico.’
Trump was campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, who called Tester a “rubber stamp for the Biden-Harris agenda every time it matters.”
Tester, who has held his Montana Senate seat since 2007, has sought to distance himself from the Biden-Harris administration as he faces an uphill fight for re-election.
By contrast, Sheehy’s comments at Friday’s event saw him attempt to lump Tester in with the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, branding him a “rubber stamp for the Biden-Harris agenda every time it matters.”
“Jon Tester didn’t have the courage to say, ‘I’m going to vote against these terrible policies that are bad for Montanans,'” said Sheehy, a former military officer and businessman.
According to a Decision Desk HQ survey cited by The hillSheehy is slightly ahead of Tester heading into the election, 49 percent to 45 percent.