Aurora mayor pushes back on claims made by Trump ahead of Friday visit

The mayor of Aurora is pushing back on claims made by former President Donald Trump ahead of his visit on Friday.

Trump is set to hold an afternoon rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center, which is located about 30 minutes from the apartment complexes the former president and his supporters have falsely claimed were overrun by Venezuelan gang members.

In a press release announcing his visit, Trump’s campaign called Aurora a “war zone.”

“Aurora, Colorado has become a 'war zone' due to the influx of violent Venezuelan prison gang members from Tren de Aragua,” the campaign said.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman pushed back on those claims on Tuesday.

Fact checking Trump's Aurora statements ahead of planned visit

“Former President Trump’s visit to Aurora is an opportunity to show him and the nation that Aurora is a considerably safe city – not a city overrun by Venezuelan gangs,” said Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman.

Coffman said he hoped to meet with Trump along with law enforcement to show him what’s really going on in the city.

“My public offer to show him our community and meet with our police chief for a briefing still stands,” Coffman said. “The reality is that the concerns about Venezuelan gang activity have been grossly exaggerated. The incidents were limited to several apartment complexes in this city of more than 400,000 residents.”

Coffman himself has made conflicting statements about gang activity at the apartment complexes in the last two months.

Coffman has no plans to attend Trump’s rally, and a spokesman said the campaign had not contacted the mayor.

The city says the Aurora Police Department “will work with its partner agencies as requested to accommodate the visit.”

Will Trump visit Aurora apartments at center of viral video?

There’s no indication Trump will visit the apartment sites.

Doing so would involve a lot more coordination between different agencies and would present logistical challenges for the U.S. Secret Service since the apartments are in a neighborhood.

The agency has been under enormous scrutiny following two assassination attempts on Trump.

Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who held a roundtable about gang activity and immigration in Aurora last month, welcomes Trump’s visit.

“As I’ve said for months, we are ready and thrilled to have President Trump visit Colorado as we’ve seen firsthand the horrible effects of the Biden-Harris Administration on our communities,” Boebert said in a statement. “From record costs on groceries and gas to dangerous Venezuelan criminals terrorizing our residents, we are sick of Kamala Harris crushing our state and our country’s future. We need President Trump back in office and his rally in Aurora on Friday will highlight everything he plans to do to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Shad Murib, the chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, said Trump’s visit only serves to divide people further.

“He wants to come to Colorado to spew his vile hatred and division that he's race baiting and villainizing our immigrant community with, and that's not welcome here in Colorado,” said Murib. “The last time that he came to Colorado, he made certain that Cory Gardner lost his election, and I suspect he's going to have the same assistance to our campaign because there's nothing that turns a Colorado voter off more than Donald Trump."

Trump’s running mate, Ohio U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, was expected to visit Denver Tuesday night for a private fundraiser.

Aurora prepares for Donald Trump's visit

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