Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is under fire from Republicans following a Washington Examiner report revealing the senator praised a poster depicting former President Donald Trump dead in front of the White House.
"It's sick and twisted that Dems like Jon Tester are always fantasizing about my father being killed," Donald Trump Jr., the eldest child of the former president, posted on X on Thursday. Tim Sheehy, the Republican Senate nominee in Montana running against Tester in 2024, also called Tester "sick."
"The vile, dangerous rhetoric from radical Democrats has no place in Montana," Sheehy posted on X. "Montana stands with President Trump and may God protect him as he fights to save America for WE THE PEOPLE! #RetireTester."
The Montana Republican Party called Tester "a sick man" after the Thursday report, adding, "Montanans stand with President Trump and come November we are ready to #RetireTester to put a stop to this vile rhetoric!"
The GOP was reacting to the fact that Tester, in his 2020 book Grounded: A Rural Democrat’s Fight to Unite a Divided America, wrote that he "actually loved" an apocalyptic Pearl Jam concert poster co-created by the rock band's bassist, Jeff Ament. The poster, which sparked controversy in 2018, was part of promotional materials for an August 2018 concert fundraiser for Tester's campaign and featured Trump lying dead on the ground, with the White House, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial on fire.
"As soon as word spread of how wild the posters were, fans stood in line for hours to buy them all up at $35 a pop. Christie showed me a copy, gritting her teeth,” Tester wrote in his book, referring to his then-campaign manager, Christie Roberts.
“And there’s an unmistakable image of me, flying on my tractor above the fire and fury, waving with my two-fingered left hand,” the senator added. “‘This is so … interesting,’ I told Christie. Though the poster was off message, I didn’t want to admit to her that I actually loved it. None of us knew about the posters before we saw them on sale at the concert."
However, Tester's passage in the book diverged from his campaign's sentiment in 2018. At the time, Tester’s campaign claimed that it neither condoned violence nor approved of the poster, which also depicted Tester flying on a tractor above the word “vote” in the sky.
The revelation of Tester's comments in the book comes after the recent attempted assassination of Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania, at a political rally. Democrats, including Tester, condemned the July 13 attack. Still, in the aftermath of the attempted assassination, the GOP has slammed Democrats for their rhetoric against Trump, including them calling him an “existential threat” to democracy, holding that such remarks could fuel violence against political opponents.
"What is wrong with Jon Tester?" the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to elect GOP senators, posted on X on Thursday.
"Far-left Senator Jon Tester should apologize to Trump IMMEDIATELY!" Bruesewitz posted on X.
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