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KALISPELL, Mont. – Despite “unprecedented flooding” in Montana’s forecast, New Jersey billionaire Greg Gianforte secretly ditched his official duties for a private vacation in Italy two years ago today, opting to bask under the Tuscan sun instead of doing the job he was elected to do.
Gianforte came under intense scrutiny for leaving Montana for his overseas vacation as several communities dealt with record flooding–a weather event so catastrophic that it has its own Wikipedia entry. The Yellowstone River washed out the North Entrance highway in Yellowstone National Park. The communities of Gardiner, Livingston and Red Lodge saw roads, buildings and bridges wash away.
But Gianforte, who suffers from a dismal 37 percent approval rating, was nowhere to be found. For days, his scrambling staffers “declined to say where he was or when he might return,” leaving Montanans and small businesses in the dark.
Former firearms executive Ryan Busse, who’s running for governor, calls the governor’s jet-setting vacation in Italy “yet another glaring example of the fact that Gianforte isn’t one of us.”
“Gianforte ditched Montanans in their time of need, despite being warned about flooding across Montana, so he could sit under a veranda and drink wine while real Montanans were busy bagging sand and wondering how to keep their small businesses open,” Busse said. “Montanans got the short end of the stick while their governor got a luxury vacation on the other side of the world.”
Busse today released an Instagram video lampooning Gianforte’s vacation HERE.
QUICK FACTS:
- Pronunciation: Ryan BUSS’-ee
- Home: Kalispell, Mont.
- Office Sought: Governor of Montana
- Affiliation: Democrat
- Website: busseformontana.com
- X (Twitter): @ryandbusse
- DOB: 2/23/70 (53)
- Occupation: Writer, Consultant, Firearms Expert and Former Executive (Vice President of Sales, Kimber America: 1995-2020)
- Family: Married to Sara for 24 years; two sons: Lander (18) and Badge (15)
- Alma Mater: Bethany College (Kansas)
- Chevy Odometer: 280,000 miles
- Hunting Dogs: Aldo and Teddy
- Bio: Ryan Busse is an author and former firearms executive who helped build the gun company Kimber from Kalispell between 1995 and 2020. Over his 25-year career Busse directed the sales of nearly three million Kimber firearms. His memoir, Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America, was published by PublicAffairs (Hachette) in 2021. Busse was born near the Kansas cattle ranch homesteaded by his great-grandfather. He is an avid hunter, angler and champion of public lands, and has held leadership positions with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and Montana Conservation Voters. Busse and his wife Sara live in Kalispell and have two teenage sons.