Northwest Montana residents flock to Kalispell for Trump appearance

Slyvia Timboe, 76, said it was the chance of a lifetime to see President Donald Trump speak in person. It took her just 20 minutes to drive to Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell on Wednesday, where the president was scheduled to speak as part of a country-wide tour to stump for Republican candidates ahead of the midterm election. 

"I adore our president, I feel honored to be able to see him. And if I knew he was here and I didn't take the opportunity to come see him, I'd regret it for the rest of my life -- after everything he's done for the country," Timboe said. 

Timboe joined thousands of other people who turned out to see Trump speak, lining U.S. 93 hours before the event started to get a seat inside the arena. As the doors opened to the venue around 2:45 p.m., a line of people trailed down the grassy hill next to Majestic Valley Arena.   

54-year-old Shane Sanderson from Rexford said it wasn't that long of wait compared to the last time he saw Trump speak in person. He saw Trump speak during his first term, when he was stumping for Republican candidates in Casper, Wyoming. 

"We got lucky and got here at 1:40 p.m. and drove right in, got in line and didn't have to stand too long. But at the other one I had to stand three hours. But things are good, they are organized here," Sanderson said. 

Sanderson said it was a chance to be around like-minded people and hear the president talk about his stance on strong borders, his support of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and law enforcement. 

Others were also interested to hear Trump speak in person about his "America first" policies.  

Debra Cox, 61, of Columbia Falls, said she believes Trump has been "undoing some of the bad things" and that she hopes he is laying the groundwork for the next president to not uproot what he's accomplished so far.   

"America first -- here at home -- closing the border so that we're safer, removing those who are dangerous so that we're safer. Preferring American workers to world workers, cause he's the American president, he's supposed to be for America," Cox said. 

32-year-old Ben O'Connor said no matter what political affiliation, he believes most people in the U.S. want to see the president focus on domestic issues. 

When he heard Trump was planning to speak in the Flathead Valley, he thought it would be a chance to escape the divisiveness of the current political discourse. 

"I saw this headline come through a few days ago, I figured a lot of good people getting together in one spot. It would be cool to be a part of it," O'Connor said. 

He said the traffic to get into the venue wasn't "super smooth" as they waited an hour-and-a-half before parking. But, hailing from the northeastern part of the country, he said Montana traffic wasn't so bad in comparison. 

Nicole Perry and her young family drove from Condon to see the president speak. She said the drive was worth it to show her children the political process up close. 

"We homeschool as a family, and I think it's good to teach your children to be good citizens and part of that is learning who the government officials and who is running for local office. And when you have the opportunity to come to things like this with the president ... I thought it would be a good time to take the kids. What if it's their only chance?" Perry said. 

She said she wanted to hear who Trump is supporting in Montana for the midterm elections and was looking forward to what would be a "rally for America" to turn out and vote. 

Kalispell resident Bill Salier, 58, said he's seen Trump rallies on television so many times throughout the years and wanted to come see the passion the president and his supporters have for the country in person. 

"It was worth the effort to get here and be part of these people who are also so supportive of our nation, just the camaraderie of being together with all our common thoughts," Salier said. 

He hoped Trump would accentuate the positives that have resulted from his vision of "freeing up the American people" with less government interference and encouraging entrepreneurship. 

When asked about the upcoming midterm elections, Salier said he plans to vote Republican through the whole ticket and he feels "really good about it in our area." 

"Nationwide, I know polling is showing that there's going to be a pretty hard Democrat push. Trump and the Republican party have beaten that polling every time he's been around us. So, we'll see. They said he'd get wiped out and he didn't," Salier said. 

He said with appropriate voter turnout he expects Republican candidates to seize victories in their run for Congress.