Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Bill Clinton Campaigns in Montana for Hillary Clinton

YPR photo

About 400 people were packed into a Billings gymnasium Friday night  to hear Bill Clinton deliver the campaign message for his wife’s presidential bid.

The former president spoke of Hillary Clinton’s desire to build the economy and bring manufacturing back to the U.S.

And Clinton talked about energy independence for Indian Reservations, especially for those west of the Mississippi. He pointed to a wealthy entrepreneur in  Wyoming who built a  wind farm and made a fortune selling electricity to California. He said every Native American reservation in this country should be able to do the same thing, especially those in the West.

Clinton told the crowd," They could  power themselves, and earn a fortune and use the money to reinvest it, to diversify their economy, improve their education and  build a new future. That’s what we should do everywhere.”

During his hour long speech at Will James Middle School he talked about how Hillary Clinton will make education affordable.

He also told the crowd there are legitimate reasons to be angry or to have resentments. Clinton spoke of building walls or bridges  in a veiled reference to the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump. He asked if people made good decisions  when they’re angry. He challenged them if we would build a future together, “ or fight over the scraps of a disappearing past. Are we going to go there with bridges or go there will walls.”

The Billings visit was the third and final stop on Friday for the former president.

Clinton’s Democratic primary opponent Bernie Sanders held rallies in Missoula and Billings earlier this month. Trump has scheduled a rally May 26, 2016 at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings.

Montana’s primary election is June 7, 2016.

Kay Erickson has been working in broadcasting in Billings for more than 20 years. She spent well over a decade as news assignment editor at KTVQ-TV before joining the staff at YPR. She is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, with a degree in broadcast journalism. Shortly after graduation she worked in Great Falls where she was one of the first female sports anchor and reporter in Montana.