Montana governor vacations in Italy amid deadly flooding in his state

Southwestern Montana has been hit by historic flooding. Triggered by torrential rains and rapid snowmelt, they caused extensive damage across the state. Washed away bridges, destroyed buildings, impassable roads around and inside Yellowstone National Park, stranded tourists and polluted drinking water… If the authorities were struggling to meet the needs of the population, Governor Greg Gianforte was meanwhile to absent subscribers.

But where was the Republican governor? That’s the question everyone was asking. It took several days for his cabinet to communicate on the subject, citing “security reasons” to cover up. Finally, his team admitted to journalists that Greg Gianforte had left the country last week, before the floods. He was on a “long-planned personal trip” with his wife. His cabinet assured that the governor would return home “early and as quickly as possible”.

Contrary to what a rumor suggested, the governor was not on safari somewhere on the African continent, but in Italy. A journalist has indeed received a photo from an anonymous source showing Greg Gianforte and his wife eating in a restaurant in the village of Casole d’Elsa, in Tuscany. A photo which would have been taken exactly 12 minutes after the announcement of his cabinet assuring that the governor was doing his best to return as quickly as possible. An attitude that greatly displeased.

Fortunately, everything is back to normal: the Republican returned to Montana soil last night and was, from this Friday, expected on the ground.

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