Former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colo., on Friday. On stage, he was flanked by mugshots of undocumented migrants that officials have accused of crimes.
Alex Brandon/AP
Supporters of Donald Trump are getting a rare opportunity to see him rally in the blue state of Colorado, where the former president is expected to bring his hardline immigration message on Friday to a city he has demonized as overrun by migrant crime — despite pushback from local leaders.
Trump has repeatedly name-checked the city of Aurora at speeches and on the debate stage in recent weeks — likening the Denver suburb to a “war zone.” He’s amplified claims that a Venezuelan gang has taken over apartment buildings in the city, a situation that elected Republican and Democratic leaders on the ground have said has been overblown and is being dealt with by local and federal law enforcement.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican and long-time Trump critic, said he hoped Trump would take the time to tour the city while he is there on Friday.
Coffman’s message to Trump?
“I’m excited for you to come here so I could show you that the narrative that is being presented nationally about this city isn’t true, that there are no apartment complexes under gang control, that the city’s not under gang control, Venezuelan gang control.”
An eager audience in a state Democrats are expected to win
But for Trump backers, his arrival in Colorado is a welcome event, as an estimated 10,000 people filled a hall in Aurora near the airport at Gaylord Rockies, a resort and convention center on the outskirts of the city.
That includes supporters like Stephen Farrell and his daughter. The pair were the first in line to see Trump and stayed awake all night outside waiting to get in. It’s also their first Trump rally.
Farrell said he got involved in politics over the last three years, driven by the feeling that the country is going downhill rapidly, in part from what he described as government sabotage and misspending.
“There’s a lot of fear and separation in society and people need to learn to get together and solve these problems and issues,” he said. “I don’t think we should send billions of dollars to Ukraine when there’s hurricane victims struggling that pay taxes their whole life.”
Trump supporters said they were excited to hear him talk about his plans for the U.S. border with Mexico, immigration and economic issues.
“My top issue as a Black man is, I want the economy to be more robust than it has been for the last three-and-a-half years,” said Henry Jones, a retired Denver police officer who lives in Aurora. “Not just for Blacks, but for everybody in the country,” he said.
Tracy Kime of Colorado Springs was also at the front of the line early Friday. She said her top issue is voting integrity. She arrived Thursday afternoon and said this will be the 25th Trump rally she’s attended since 2016. She described it as a rock concert for political junkies.
“The energy, the love. I mean these people, we all take care of each other,” she explained. “Half these people just met each other yesterday and we feel like we’re all family and we’re all making sure we are warm and we’re taken care of. I say the greatest people you’ll ever meet in your life, is at a Trump rally. They’ll take the shirt off their back for you.”
She was standing near 19-year-old Ben Feeney, who lives about an hour away from Aurora and said he loves that Trump is in Colorado to support people in the city, and is proud to vote for Trump in his first presidential election.
“Real leadership is shown when you’re under attack and you stand there about to die and you’re fighting for your last breath and you stand your ground. That is leadership. That’s what I have to say,” as he paused, appearing emotional.
Meanwhile, ahead of Trump’s remarks Democratic state leaders, including Gov. Jared Polis held their own press conference where they promised to “hold Trump accountable for spreading misinformation about the Aurora community.”
They also blasted Trump for squelching a bipartisan border deal earlier this year that they said was the most comprehensive immigration reform proposed in the last decade.
