Top 33 Jon Tester Quotes

I really think that people’s right to happiness shouldn’t be dictated by some policymaker in Washington, D.C. I’ve come to know a lot of people that – sexual orientation is such where they’re in love with people from the same sex, and I just don’t think it’s our role in the government to say, ‘No you can’t be married.’

I think there’s plenty of folks out there, whether they agree with me or not, they appreciate the fact that you’re listening to them. And I think that’s how you win.

Montana’s ranchers raise the best cattle in the world. If Taco Bell needs to beef up, they can give their customers the highest quality meat around by using Montana beef, and in the process, supporting agriculture jobs in Montana.

I would love to tell you this country is on the cusp of coming together, but it isn’t. But I can tell you that we need to work together in this country. We need to hold people accountable for their actions, and that will be done. And we need to move forward in a way that we have the strongest middle class ever.

If people really want to sit down and visit and talk about things like health care, which is a very, very important issue in Montana, I think oftentimes you want to get to the same goal. And that is affordable health care costs.

I look forward to working with President Trump. I’ve worked with him many times in the past, but we disagree.

Healthcare is very much a high priority for me. Healthcare is also a huge issue for business, both big and small.

I take my vacation on the combine and tractor.

I play trumpet. And I took all the music courses in college, so I can also play the string instruments, keyboard, the brass and woodwinds – but only well enough to teach them. If you put a violin in front of me, you wouldn’t say, ‘My God, that guy can play.’ It’d probably sound more like Jack Benny.

I served on a lot of the local boards in my local community, and then I ran for the state legislature in ’98 and ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006. I mean, it was just kind of one thing after another. A series of really bad decisions.

I think difference of opinion is a good thing.

This is going to sound really crude, but I lost my fingers in a meat grinder.

Montanans believe in the right to make a good life for their families. How they define a family should be their business and their business alone. I’m proud to support marriage equality because no one should be able to tell a Montanan or any American who they can love and who they can marry.

When I have to do what I think is right for Montana, I do it.

That’s politics. Your friend one day is your enemy the next and vice versa.

I was helping my mom grind meat at our butcher shop, and it just hypnotized me. I don’t remember sticking my hand in, but it sheared off the three middle fingers and left me with a pinkie and a thumb.

The truth is that nobody agrees with anybody 100 percent of the time.

I’ve got my problems with Trump, but I’m going to give him every opportunity to succeed.

I think all politicians have gotten out of touch.

I have probably never voted for a straight ticket in my life, and I am a Democratic U.S. senator.

Matt Rosendale doesn’t know what the hell is going on in Montana. That’s why he doesn’t talk about the issues he believes in, because he doesn’t know them.

If I was the leader of the House of Representatives, the first thing I would do is I would put in a very clean bill on reapportionment. And I would put a very clean bill in that says that corporations are not people.

I will tell you unequivocally, a wall from sea to shining sea is not the right direction to go.

I don’t believe in models that say you just knock on this door, you just go to this community, and you’ll get elected. I think you go everywhere, and you listen to everybody. Everybody’s got ideas.

Agriculture drives most people crazy. It keeps me sane.

You’ve got to have a good public education system so small-business owners, when they locate to an area, are confident their kids are getting the best education possible. I feel strongly about local control in school districts.

Donald Trump was straight up. I mean, he told me what he thought of me, and that’s cool. I might not like it, but at least he did it to my face. That’s what Montanans like. They like people to be square with them.

It brings me back to reality. The combine doesn’t care if you’re a senator or not. It breaks down whenever it wants to break down.

I’m a farmer. I always will be a farmer. When I die, I’ll be a farmer. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do since I was 8 years old. I can tell you also that I see opportunity slipping away for our kids.

I go everywhere in the state and I listen to Montanans, whether it’s in conservative areas or liberal areas, and take those ideas back to Washington, D.C., and put them into action.

Montanans elected me to the Senate to do away with shady backroom deals and to make government work better.

I will tell you, in the case of education, you have to make the investment if you’re going to get the return. There’s no doubt about that. It’s a proven fact the return is there if you make the investment. It really is about priorities.

Washington’s a mess, but that’s not stopping me from getting bills to help Montana signed into law by President Trump.