Chicago City Wire

Steve Cortes, a 1990 graduate of Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights and founder of the League of American Workers, was the featured speaker at the Gallatin County, Mont. Lincoln-Reagan Day dinner on May 4.

“Montana from the air, stunning!” Cortes tweeted last week. “Thrilled to be the keynote speaker for the Lincoln-Reagan dinner tomorrow night.” 

He also shared a picture from the event with U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) and U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), who also previously served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

“Last night with ⁦@RepRosendale⁩ and ⁦@RyanZinke,” tweeted Cortes. “Who chided me for not wearing cowboy boots to the amazing Montana Lincoln/Reagan dinner…” 

Cortes, 51, is also is a political analyst, market strategist, public speaker, and TV broadcaster.

An advisor to former President Donald Trump’s campaign, Cortes has worked as an on-air political commentator for CNBC, Fox, CNN, Bloomberg Television and Newsmax.

In addition to graduating from Marian Catholic, Cortes also graduated from Georgetown University in 1994, where he was nominated for the Rhodes Scholarship.

He resides in Chicago with his wife and four children.

Cortes is a former Newsmax host, Fox News contributor and advisor to former president Donald Trump. 

He promoted the appearance in a video prior to the event. 

“Patriots. This is Steve Cortes. I was a senior adviser and media spokesman for the Trump campaigns of 2016 and 2020. I'm coming to you today to tell you about my trip to Montana coming up in early May for a gathering of Montana MAGA. And to encourage you to be there,” Cortes said.

“Now, if you followed my work, especially during the Trump campaign of 2020, you know that I use this format of chart talks as a tool to inform people about policy via facts and figures by the numbers. In this case, I'm going to use it to tell you about a party in Montana, but a party with a principle with meaning. The Gallatin County Republicans have invited me.”

In that same video, Cortes provided bullet points of what he would discuss during the dinner.   

"Well, first a recap of 2022 what worked, what didn't. Then talk about the here and now. What is the agenda today for patriotic populism? Also going to look to the future. What is the outlook for 2024 elections in Montana and all over the country?"

GallatinRepublicans.com highlighted Cortes' career including appearing "daily on TV news programs for over a decade” noting that “His broadcast career began at CNBC where he commented on financial markets, primarily as part of the "Fast Money" franchise. Cortes later on "transitioned to politics, serving in 2016 as a primary TV surrogate for the Trump presidential campaign and was named to Trump's Hispanic Advisory Council." 

Maria Bartiromo of Fox News, according to Gallatin County Republicans website, said "Steve was a strong communicator who understood very early on what the people wanted in a commander-in-chief."

Cortes also remained an informal advisor to Trump. For two decades, he worked on Wall Street as a trader and strategist, and currently "serves as head strategist for BGC Partners, providing risk management strategies to banks and hedge funds.”

Lincoln-Reagan dinners are annual fundraisers held traditionally in mid-winter. Lincoln was the first Republican president and one of the party’s founders. The dinners in some areas have been renamed Lincoln-Reagan-Trump dinners.