{"id":2317337,"date":"2024-08-01T07:55:58","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T11:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jon-tester-praised-pearl-jam-poster-depicting-trump-dead-records-show-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-01T07:58:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T11:58:44","slug":"jon-tester-praised-pearl-jam-poster-depicting-trump-dead-records-show-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jon-tester-praised-pearl-jam-poster-depicting-trump-dead-records-show-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Jon Tester praised Pearl Jam poster depicting Trump dead, records show &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjon-tester-praised-pearl-jam-poster-depicting-trump-dead-records-show-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2317337&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Jon\u2063 Tester (D-MT) recently\u2064 faced scrutiny over his praise for a controversial Pearl Jam concert poster that depicted former President Donald Trump dead,\u2064 amidst ongoing discussions about \u2064political violence. \u2064Though Tester publicly distanced his campaign \u200cfrom the poster during the 2018 Senate race, he later admitted in his 2020\u200d memoir that he &#8220;actually loved&#8221; the \u2062artwork created by Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament. The poster featured Tester flying over a burning \u200dlandscape, and he noted that it attracted significant attention from concert-goers.<\/p>\n<p>This \u200crevelation has sparked backlash,\u2064 particularly following\u2064 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iraqi-govt-blames-shiite-groups-for-botched-attack-on-prime-minister-2\/\" title=\"Iraqi Govt. blames Shi\u2019ite groups for botched attack on prime minister\">recent assassination attempt<\/a> on Trump, which led Tester to express his disapproval of political violence and call for an investigation. Republican commentators have criticized Tester for \u2064his previously aggressive rhetoric towards Trump and suggested that such comments could \u200bencourage extremist actions. In light\u2064 of these events, Tester\u2019s praise for the artwork has intensified the debate around \u2062the impact of political imagery and language in today&#8217;s polarized environment.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Jon Tester praised Pearl Jam poster depicting Trump dead, records show<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1719408\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) praised an apocalyptic Pearl Jam concert poster that depicted former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a> dead in front of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>White House<\/a>, records show.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, as Tester was seeking a third term, controversy swirled over promotional materials for an Aug. 13 concert fundraiser for the senator&rsquo;s campaign <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2018\/politics\/news\/pearl-jam-trump-tester-1202906577\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>featuring<\/a> a drawing of Trump lying dead on the ground, with the White House, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial ablaze. At the time, Tester&rsquo;s campaign <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/powerpost\/a-pearl-jam-poster-depicting-a-dead-president-trump-draws-controversy-in-montana-senate-race\/2018\/08\/15\/714d379c-a097-11e8-8e87-c869fe70a721_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>insisted<\/a> it neither condoned violence nor approved of the poster, which also depicted a gleeful Tester flying on a tractor above the word &ldquo;vote&rdquo; etched in the sky. The poster was co-created by Jeff Ament, a longtime friend of Tester and Pearl Jam&rsquo;s bassist, Jeff Ament, the <em>Washington Post<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/powerpost\/a-pearl-jam-poster-depicting-a-dead-president-trump-draws-controversy-in-montana-senate-race\/2018\/08\/15\/714d379c-a097-11e8-8e87-c869fe70a721_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a> in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>However, despite the Tester campaign condemning the anti-Trump art in 2018, the senator hummed to a different tune in a passage buried in his 2020 book <em>Grounded: A Rural Democrat&rsquo;s Fight to Unite a Divided America<\/em>, the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> found. In the book, Tester revealed that he &ldquo;actually loved&rdquo; the Pearl Jam poster. Pearl Jam, a rock band whose lead vocalist is Eddie Vedder, was formed in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/seattle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Seattle<\/a> in 1990. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As soon as word spread of how wild the posters were, fans stood in line for hours to buy them all up at $35 a pop. Christie showed me a copy, gritting her teeth,&rdquo; Tester wrote in his book, referring to his then-campaign manager, Christie Roberts.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And there&rsquo;s an unmistakable image of me, flying on my tractor above the fire and fury, waving with my two-fingered left hand,&rdquo; the senator continued. &ldquo;&lsquo;This is so &hellip; interesting,&rsquo; I told Christie. Though the poster was off message, I didn&rsquo;t want to admit to her that I actually loved it. None of us knew about the posters before we saw them on sale at the concert.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) walks to a vote on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tester also wrote in his book that &ldquo;the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jon-tester-quietly-praised-pearl-jam-poster-depicting-trump-dead-records-show-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Jon Tester quietly praised Pearl Jam poster depicting Trump dead, records show - Washington Examiner\">big news&#038;rdquo<\/a>; during the event &ldquo;wasn&rsquo;t the music; it was the artwork.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>News of Tester&rsquo;s embrace of the artwork comes after the recent assassination attempt on Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The senator said in July he was &ldquo;appalled by the violence at the political rally&rdquo; and wrote a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenatorTester\/status\/1812547239912275971\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>letter<\/a> to other lawmakers requesting an investigation into the event, which he called a &ldquo;tragedy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In the aftermath of the attempted assassination, Republicans have cast blame on Democrats for their rhetoric, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-CaalQtVQVc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>calling<\/a> Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/rollcall.com\/2024\/03\/04\/one-existential-threat-in-shift-biden-gives-trump-a-tongue-lashing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"an\">an<\/a> &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-biden-defends-controversial-comments-about-putting-trump-in-bullseye-before-shooting-during-rant\/\" title=\"Watch: Biden defends controversial comments about putting Trump in &#039;bullseye&#039; before shooting during rant\">existential threat&#038;rdquo<\/a>; to democracy, arguing that such claims could fuel extremist activity.<\/p>\n<p>President Joe Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/speeches-remarks\/2024\/06\/28\/remarks-by-president-biden-at-a-campaign-event-raleigh-nc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> in June at a rally in North Carolina that Trump &ldquo;is a genuine threat to this nation.&rdquo; Days later, at a Wisconsin rally, Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/speeches-remarks\/2024\/07\/05\/remarks-by-president-biden-to-overflow-crowd-at-campaign-event-madison-wi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a>, &ldquo;I mean what I said: We cannot let Trump win. No, I mean, that&rsquo;s not hyperbole. We can&rsquo;t. This is the most dangerous election in American history.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Tester&rsquo;s campaign declined a request for comment, pointing the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> to his <a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/2024\/07\/14\/tester-calls-for-investigation-daines-mourns-with-families\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>statement<\/a> in July following the assassination attempt.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Tester&rsquo;s violent rhetoric toward President Trump is sick,&rdquo; said Mike Berg, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.<\/p>\n<p>The spokesman for the NRSC, which works to elect Republicans to the upper chamber, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/691956\/democratic-senator-on-how-to-beat-trump-punch-him-in-the-face\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>also pointed to comments<\/a> Tester made in 2019 declaring that the way to beat Trump was to &ldquo;punch him in the face.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think, even in states where Donald Trump won big, that it does you any good running away from Donald Trump,&rdquo; Tester <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ybIXoMhTr_w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> during an interview on MSNBC&rsquo;s <em>Morning Joe<\/em> in 2019. &ldquo;I think you need to go back and punch him in the face. I mean, the truth is this guy is bad for this country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>On Aug. 21, Tester will appear alongside Ament, the Pearl Jam bassist, for a fundraiser in Missoula, Montana. The event is included in a package for &ldquo;Big Sky Rocker&rdquo; and &ldquo;Super Fan&rdquo; donors giving at least $400 to Tester, the <em>Montana Free Press<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2024\/07\/15\/convention-or-concert-for-tester-its-no-contest\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a>. The 2024 election fundraiser is one day before an Aug. 22 Pearl Jam <a href=\"https:\/\/logjampresents.com\/event\/pearl-jam-59464\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>concert<\/a> at the University of Montana. <\/p>\n<p>Tester faces a competitive challenge in Montana this year from Tim Sheehy, a businessman and ex-Navy SEAL. The Senate seat is widely viewed as a toss-up. Sheehy led Tester by five percentage points in a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.fivethirtyeight.com\/polls\/senate\/2024\/montana\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>poll<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1719408\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1719408\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) expressed admiration for a controversial Pearl Jam concert poster that illustrated former President Donald Trump deceased in front of the White House, according to records. During his 2018 campaign for a third term, there was significant backlash regarding promotional materials for an August 13 fundraiser concert featuring an image of Trump lying lifeless on the ground, with iconic Washington landmarks engulfed in flames. At that time, Tester&#8217;s campaign maintained that they did not endorse violence or approve of the poster, which also showed Tester joyfully flying on a tractor above the word &#8220;vote&#8221; written in the sky. The artwork was co-created by Jeff Ament, Pearl Jam&#8217;s bassist and a longtime friend of Tester. Despite condemning the anti-Trump imagery back then, Tester later revealed in his 2020 book &#8220;Grounded: A Rural Democrat\u2019s Fight to Unite a Divided America&#8221; that he actually loved the poster. He recounted how fans eagerly lined up to purchase it at $35 each and described his reaction when shown a copy by his then-campaign manager Christie Roberts. In his book, he noted how interesting he found it despite its off-message nature and admitted he didn&#8217;t want to let her know how much he liked it.<\/p>\n<p>Tester also mentioned that during this event, &#8220;the big news&#8221; wasn&#8217;t about the music but rather about the artwork itself. His comments come amid heightened tensions following an assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania earlier this year; Tester condemned political violence and called for investigations into such incidents while facing criticism from Republicans who blame Democrats&#8217; rhetoric for inciting extremism.<\/p>\n<p>In past statements, including one made during an MSNBC interview in 2019 where he suggested confronting Trump directly as necessary to combat what he viewed as harmful leadership for America\u2014he stated: \u201cI think you need to go back and punch him in the face.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>On August 21st, Tester is scheduled to appear alongside Ament at a fundraiser event in Missoula before attending another Pearl Jam concert at Montana&#8217;s University of Montana on August 22nd. This election cycle presents significant challenges for Tester as polls indicate he&#8217;s facing tough competition from Tim Sheehy\u2014a businessman and former Navy SEAL\u2014who recently led him by five percentage points according to recent surveys<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":2317338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Jon-Tester-Montana-Donald-Trump-2024-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32875,36845,5894,36851,32076],"class_list":["post-2317337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-jon-tester","tag-pearl-jam","tag-politics","tag-trump-poster","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Jon-Tester-Montana-Donald-Trump-2024-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2317338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}