On Wednesday night, former President Donald Trump pledged he would be coming to Aurora in the next two weeks. Trump has made the city a focus of his anti-immigration campaign, saying Venezuelan gangs have taken over the city — a claim that the mayor, police and city council members say is false.
When Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican conservative, got word of Trump’s plans for a visit, the city’s communications people suggested he stay quiet about it.
Instead, Coffman told Denverite he’s decided to “lean into” the former president’s visit. Why? He wants to give Trump a tour and show him that, in fact, Venezuelan gangs have not taken over the city. (City officials have, however, acknowledged the apparent presence of the gang and the consequences for the residents of several apartment buildings.)
Coffman’s message to Trump: “Bring it on. Come here. 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.”
The mayor clarified he had not actually spoken to Trump.
Coffman, who says he’s a Reagan Republican, still plans to vote for Trump, despite how the candidate has spread rumors that he says have harmed the city. Coffman’s policies are more aligned with Trump than Vice President Kamala Harris, he said.
So, how will Coffman host Trump?
If Trump holds an Aurora rally, the mayor will not be there to introduce the candidate. Instead, he wants to start a conversation with the former president.
“I’m not a rally person,” Coffman said. “I'd love to show them the city, as well as have a briefing provided by law enforcement about where we are in terms of, for instance, that video, identifying those individuals in that video and arresting them,” Coffman said.
The mayor is managing a major PR crisis for Aurora that is being stoked by his own party.
“This narrative, if allowed to bake in, could hurt the city,” Coffman said.
Coffman has at times contributed to the storyline he's now fighting. In a Fox News interview late in August, he said that "there are several apartment buildings ... that haven fallen to these Venezuelan gangs." He also said on talk radio in July that "areas in our city, unfortunately ... have been taken," as 9News reported.
Coffman said recently that he had been reviewing more evidence, including visiting affected apartments and meeting with tenants.
"I certainly believe that there were Venezuelan gang related problems, as previously reported, that caused the property managers to flee, and I appreciate the work of the Aurora Police Department (APD) in making multiple arrests related to Venezuelan gang activities," he wrote on Facebook on Sept. 6. "...At this time, I agree with Interim Chief Heather Morris' current assessment that a Venezuelan gang is not in control of either of these two apartment complexes."
Editor's note: This article was updated Sept. 20 at 4:30 p.m. with additional information about Mayor Mike Coffman's previous statements.