Montana governor under fire for vacationing during flood

RED LODGE, Mont. — As punishing floods tore through Yellowstone National Park and neighboring Montana communities, the state’s governor was nowhere to be seen.

In the immediate aftermath, the state issued a disaster declaration attributed to the Republican governor, but for some reason it carried the lieutenant governor’s signature.

It wasn’t until Wednesday — more than 48 hours after the flood hit the state — that Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office acknowledged he was out of the country, although it wouldn’t say exactly where he was, citing unspecified security concerns.

Mr. Gianforte finally returned on Thursday night from what his office said was a vacation with his wife in Italy. But he found himself facing a torrent of criticism for not hurrying home sooner and for not telling the public his whereabouts during the emergency.

“In a moment of unprecedented disaster and economic uncertainty, Gianforte purposefully kept Montanans in the dark about where he was and who was actually in charge,” said Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party.

Mr. Gianforte, 61, is a tech mogul elected governor two years ago. He made headlines when he bodyslammed a reporter the day before winning a seat in Congress in a 2017 special election. He initially misled investigators about the attack but eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault.

While Mr. Gianforte was away, Montana’s lieutenant governor served as acting governor. And in Mr. Gianforte’s defense, his office said he was briefed regularly about the flooding, which caused widespread damage to small communities in the southern part of the state and had threatened to cut off fresh water to Billings, the state’s largest city.

But Mr. Gianforte’s critics seized on his mysterious disappearance and started the mocking social media hashtag # WhereIsGreg. Montanans and others traded wisecracks about Mr. Gianforte and the Appalachian Trail — a reference to former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who disappeared in 2009 and had his staff tell reporters he was hiking the Appalachian Trail while he was actually having a tryst with his lover in Argentina.

Montana reporters started asking more questions after noticing Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras’ signature on the flood-disaster declaration.

“Truthfully, it speaks for itself. It just does,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, of Montana, said of the governor’s AWOL status as he toured flood damage in Red Lodge on Friday. “When you’re in public service, there are things that take precedent, and this is pretty important.”

Mr. Gianforte finally toured the flood zone Friday but didn’t address his absence. He instead encouraged visitors to still come to the Yellowstone region.

The floods washed away roads, bridges and houses and closed all of Yellowstone, threatening some of the communities on the park’s outskirts.

David Goldman/Associated Press Neighbors look at a backyard Friday after it was damaged by severe flooding in Fromberg, Mont. Gov. Greg Gianforte was vacationing in Italy when the flooding hit. A disaster declaration was signed by the state’s lieutenant governor.