When he left Whitefish, Montana on Tuesday it was 5 below zero on Tuesday morning. Needless to say, former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was greatly looking forward to meeting with President Trump in Mar a Lago on Wednesday.

We caught up with the former Montana Congressman who is endorsed by Trump in the newly created Western Montana Congressional District.

What's he up to in Mar a Lago?

Zinke: For the endorsed candidates- there's, Herschel Walker is here- we're having a candidates forum to go through the America First policy. I'm keynoting today, and my subject today is going to be about energy and how energy drives inflation-  as well as talking about Ukraine.

What's he think about the Ukraine situation?

Zinke: This administration, Biden administration, is viewed as weak. Our NATO allies are not unified. And Russia for a long while has had territorial ambitions of connecting the Crimean peninsula where their fleet is, and we're watching it develop before our very eyes...Unfortunately, when America is weak, there's global consequences.

We talked about how Biden is enriching Putin through his failed energy policy

Zinke: When we came in, we were as a nation, we were 8.3 million barrels a day and declining. After two years, we were 12.5, we were the largest exporter of energy. And it wasn't just fossil fuel. It was across the board with wind, because Made in America energy is cleaner, better. And it drives the economy. When energy prices are low, America can manufacture. When energy costs are low, grocery costs are low, fertilizer is low, but you see the energy spike- fertilizers up three times, grocery store- just buy groceries and you're shocked how little you get for how much you'd have to pay. So on the domestic side, and then of course, foreign- when we're perceived as weak our allies don't trust us.

Here's the full audio as Zinke joined us on "Montana Talks with Aaron Flint:"

Credit Ryan Zinke
Credit Ryan Zinke
loading...
Credit Ryan Zinke
Credit Ryan Zinke
loading...

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

 

More From Mix 97.1