President’s visit to Flathead costs county, municipalities more than $107,000

President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Kalispell earlier this month cost Flathead County and nearby municipalities more than $107,000 for emergency services personnel, and local taxpayers are on the hook for the costs. 

Flathead County identified approximately $58,000 in costs from supporting security operations during Trump’s visit, where he stumped for Republican candidates in Montana’s federal elections. 

In a press release this week, county officials said they would not seek reimbursement from the federal government for the expenses, “consistent with precedent” established during visits by former vice presidents to the area. 

“We have a duty to assist with security efforts during any presidential visit of this scale,” said Flathead County Commission Chairman Brad Abell. “It was also an honor for Flathead County to host a sitting president of the United States.”

The county’s expenses primarily consisted of overtime wages for members of the Sheriff’s Office. 

Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino told KPAX that around 200 local personnel helped with security operations and traffic control during the visit. 

“Securing an event of this size requires an extraordinary team effort, and our Sheriff’s Office personnel and partner agencies rose to the occasion with complete professionalism,” said Heino in a statement. “Whenever a high-profile leader visits the Flathead Valley, our duty is clear: Provide maximum security, and protect everyone involved. I could not be prouder of how our entire team performed.”

The City of Kalispell reported a bill of $45,781 for mobilization of city personnel, and Mayor Ryan Hunter has said he would like to seek reimbursement. 

“The kind of security that goes around with the president — quite, quite expensive as people can imagine,” Hunter said at a council work session following the president’s visit. “And it was a campaign event, not necessarily like an official federal government event, which makes it kind of unique as well. So certainly, hopefully we can find some grants to pay for some of our time and effort into that as a city.”

Hunter added that other cities have billed the president for expenses, and he would like to see that happen, though he is “not super hopeful” that the city would be reimbursed. 

The Daily Montanan earlier reported that the president did not fully pay for the costs of his visits to Missoula and Billings in 2018.

In 2024, Trump held a campaign stop in Bozeman, where Gallatin County footed the more than $62,000 bill. 

The Kalispell City Council is expected to discuss the issue at its Nov. 2 meeting. 

Up in Whitefish, the city manager told the Daily Montanan that five Whitefish police officers provided support to the Sheriff’s Office during the visit, incurring approximately $3,755 in overtime. The city council has not directed staff to seek reimbursement.

Columbia Falls is not seeking reimbursement for costs with the event, which also primarily included overtime. The city manager told the Daily Montanan that operational schedules were adjusted to minimize the impact to the city. 

Montana Highway Patrol did not respond to a request for any costs incurred at the state level related to Trump’s visit and Vice President JD Vance’s subsequent stop in Belgrade this week.