I didn't golf. The governor didn't golf. Nonetheless, we teed off on a host of topics during the Montana Chamber's Governor's Cup golf tournament in the Flathead Valley recently. (The gov did fish in the Gov's Cup walleye tourney at Fort Peck though)

We covered everything from aggressively attacking wildfire starts in the state to Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race.

900 Fires Already This Year

Gov. Gianforte: "We've had 900 wildfires so far this year, more than half of them human caused. So just as we get out and recreate here through the rest of fire season, just be careful out there folks, I mean just chains on the RV or boat, fireworks, firearms, anything can start a fire when the woods are as dry as they are.

Aaron Flint: "I just had some friends near Butte, and they said- man, these aerial firefighters, they just saved our house. And that fire- there was an aggressive initial attack on it and and it kept it to I think a very small footprint and that's aggressive attack that really is needed, especially when you have hot dry conditions."

Gov Gianforte: "Right. And this has been our policy since I came into office- aggressive attack on fires, as long as we don't put wildfire firefighters at risk. And then we need to manage our forests, we got too much fuel. That's why we've prioritized reducing the fuel load. And the results have been great. Last year 96% of the fires under state control kept to 10 acres or less. We'll continue to fight these fires aggressively because we like the blue skies."

By the way, Navy SEAL veteran and US Senate candidate Tim Sheehy is one of those aerial firefighters called up to help defend homes and lives.

 

Joe Biden Drops Out of the Race, Bitterly Clings to Presidency

Aaron Flint: "What a bunch of crazy news out of Washington. Every day it seems like there's something crazy going on. Joe Biden officially withdrawing from the race. I listened to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu- gave an incredible speech to Congress. And then that same night, it just seemed like Joe Biden is just bitterly clinging to the presidency. But what's the alternative? I mean, Kamala Harris has some crazy positions when it comes to anti fracking, anti beef, you name it."

Gov. Gianforte: "Yeah. She doesn't want you to eat red meat. She has proposed buying back guns. You know, it's just- this is absolutely the wrong direction. We've seen the train wreck that Joe Biden has been for this country. Harris has been there the whole time. We're going to...it's going to be Biden-plus if Harris gets elected. And the crazy thing is my opponent in my race was an advisor to Biden/Harris also wants to take their guns."

 

The full audio of our chat with Gov. Gianforte starts about 20 minutes in on the following podcast:

SHOT Show- Montana to Las Vegas

We took the trip from Montana to Las Vegas for the SHOT Show- the world's biggest guns and outdoor gear show. From radio row to the trade show floor.

Gallery Credit: Aaron Flint

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