Ryan Zinke, a Republican candidate for Montana’s congressional seat, stirred up a bit of national attention because of his recent reference to Hillary Clinton as the “anti-Christ” at a Bigfork campaign gathering.

At a Jan. 27 gathering at Marina Cay Resort, according to The Bigfork Eagle, Zinke told supporters: “We need to focus on the real enemy,” referring to the former Secretary of State. Zinke went on to call her the “anti-Christ.”

Those remarks were picked up by the Huffington Post, The Hill, Salon and other online outlets over the last few days, framing Zinke’s remarks mostly in unfavorable ways.

Contacted by the Inter Lake on Monday, Zinke said he obviously doesn’t think Clinton is the actual “anti-Christ,” but he doesn’t think too highly of her largely because he knew the two former Navy SEALs who died at the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012.

“I would say this: It was perhaps a little harsh,” said Zinke, a retired Navy SEAL and former state senator from Whitefish. “But I had two friends in Benghazi and the truth does matter.”

Clinton and others in the Obama administration initially said an anti-Muslim film made in the United States was the catalyst for the attack, a claim that has been largely refuted. 

Zinke also pointed to revelations in a recent book by former Defense Secretary Bob Gates. In the book, it’s purported that Clinton “openly admitted that she had not supported the surge [in Iraq] for political reasons,” Zinke said.

“I think it’s unacceptable to have someone put politics ahead of the safety of our troops as the commander in chief,” he said, referring to the possibility that Clinton will run for president in 2016.

Out of all the national media outlets that picked up the story about his Bigfork remarks, none attempted to contact Zinke, he said.

“No one talked to me about it. It’s not truth they are after,” he said. “They want to create mistrust. It’s always a character assassination.”

The Bigfork Eagle story also referred to Zinke handing out .50-caliber ammunition to people at Marina Cay, which also was seized on.

Politicsusa.com wrote that Zinke “referred to Hillary Clinton as the anti-Christ before passing out bullets to his supporters.”

But those “bullets” were actually writing pens “that happened to be shaped like .50-caliber ammo,” Zinke said.

“They are trying to paint me as something I’m not,” Zinke said, adding that he intends to run a positive campaign in his bid to replace Rep. Steve Daines, a Republican who is running for the Senate seat now held by Democrat Max Baucus.

Also at the Bigfork event, Zinke referred to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich as an adviser to his campaign.

He clarified that Gingrich is not a paid adviser who is part of his campaign team, but Gingrich has offered him advice.

“Newt Gingrich and I have had multiple conversations back and forth and we’ve exchanged multiple e-mails,” he said. “Newt is the one who advised me that Washington can be fixed. And he’s the one who convinced me that Washington can be fixed.”

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.