Daines, Zinke respond to worries about Trump

As Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump deals with the fallout from a series of bad headlines and controversial statements, both Republicans in Montana's congressional delegation, who have endorsed the billionaire, sought to disavow his statements without condemning the nominee himself.

Both Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., were in Havre this week and both commented on the issue.

When Daines came to Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation to meet with the Chippewa Cree Business Committee Wednesday, business committee member Dustin Whitford  told the senator that past statements Trump has made about Native Americans have made him "uneasy and nervous" about a possible Trump presidency.

Whitford, who repeatedly said he was speaking for himself and nobody else, did not give specific examples of such statements, but said comments attributed to Trump before he was a presidential candidate posted on Facebook and on the news were a source of concern.

"Those kinds of things scare me," Whitford said.

He said he hoped the senator would continue to have a strong relationship with the tribe and asked him what he could do to assure not only the Chippewa Cree but all Native people that they will "be OK" should Donald Trump become president.

"The day after election, we are still going to be the same office, the same advocates for Indian Country that we were before," Daines said.

He said that he has concerns about what he deemed an "authoritarian kind of messaging" coming from both sides of the political spectrum.

He said regardless of who wins November's presidential election, the powers under Article One of the Constitution, which pertain to the legislative branch of government, are twice as many as those of the executive and judicial branches.

Daines said while there may be a lot of rhetoric animating the campaign, once a new president is sworn in they will discover that the president and Congress have to work together  to enact policy,

He said that he still is optimistic about the country, regardless of who wins.

Daines was later asked about statements Trump made in response to Khazir Khan, a Muslim-American whose son was killed in 2004 while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq,

Khan spoke out against Trump's proposed temporary ban on Muslim immigration while speaking at the Democratic National Convention last month.

In  response to the speech in an interview with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, Trump questioned why Khan's wife, who had been standing alongside him during the speech did not say anything.

He also later said in a tweet that Khan had "viciously attacked him" in his speech at the convention.

"I don't think there is any place in American politics, I don't care if you are Republican or Democrat to criticize a Gold Star family," said Daines, whose father was a U.S Marine.

He said that Americans need to support the families of those who have died in service to their country.

Zinke, a former Navy Seal commander, was asked Tuesday in Havre about his response to Trump's remarks.

"I think it is shameful that it is being used as a political tool on both sides. I think America is better than that," Zinke said.  

On a Facebook page posted later Tuesday, Zinke said both candidates have said "regrettable things to military families."

"Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton should swallow their pride and apologize to the families and service members they have offended. Politics has no role in the military," Zinke said.

When asked what regrettable statements Clinton had made, Heather Swift, a spokesperson for Zinke, said Clinton has made statements questioning the honesty of families of those who died in the 2012 attack on the U.S Embassy in Benghazi, but Swift did not provide examples of any such statements.