Ryan Zinke is running for U.S. Congress in Montana and is a former SEAL Team Six Task Force Commander and currently the Operations Officer for National Command Authority missions. The former Republican state senator is outraged that Mexico is still detaining Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, a young marine who accidentally crossed the Mexican border back in March.

“If I was the first executive of the United States, I would have called the first marine division and told them to go get their marine back, and I would give them the equipment to do it,” he told Breitbart News Saturday co-hosts Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Marlow.

Appearing on the show broadcast over Sirius XM Patriot Radio channel 125, Zinke added, “I cannot fathom why the media is not pounding the issue. Here is a young marine who’s being held in a Mexican prison and where is this administration? Where is our country? We need to demand that this marine comes back home.”

Zinke is a third generation Montanan with deep family roots in Bozeman, Glasgow, Glendive, Whitefish, and Richey. He received outstanding athletic awards throughout his high school and college years at the University of Oregon, including All-Pacific TEN honors, the Pacific TEN Medal, the University Sahlstrom Award, and the prestigious Emerald Cup for academic, athletic, and leadership excellence. 

After spending two separate tours with the SEAL Team Six, he served as a Special Operations Officer in Europe commanding the SEAL Joint Task Force TWO in support of Special Operations missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo. He was elected to the Montana State Senate in 2008.

Zinke considers himself an optimist and feels America can regain its position as the world’s leader, but we can’t do it under this administration. “We can get respect back, but we can’t lead from behind,” he explained. Moreover, he says that “You lead from the front by doing what you said you were going to do. When you say you are going to be on Israel’s side, then you take its side.”

“If during the Reagan years you were to say that Egypt would be a closer ally to Israel than America, no one would believe it,” said the commander. Bannon agreed, saying that the turnabout is “absolutely shocking.”

For America to rebuild itself, according to Zinke, energy independence is the key. “We have to approve the keystone pipeline; we have to shore up our infrastructure,” he asserted.

Moreover, we need to expand our capabilities in the liquid natural gas arena, so that we can export it to Europe. “We can check the Soviet market by hitting scrum face and crushing them with the free market,” he said. By delivering the energy to Europe, we will choke Russia and force them to see things our way. “But,” he insists, “we can’t do it with this administration, who wants a war on coal and a war on gas.”

“I’m an optimist: we can restore and rebuild America. We don’t have any choice but to do that,” he reminded the listeners. “But our leaders have to recognize that their purpose is to serve the people. And not to serve yourself.”