What Aurora city leaders are saying about a possible Trump visit

AURORA, Colo. — If former President Trump campaigns in Aurora, Mayor Mike Coffman will not be on his rally stage.

On Wednesday, Trump said that he was going to Springfield, Ohio and Aurora, two cities that have been the focus of false narratives about migrants.

The Springfield misinformation is about an unfounded and inaccurate claim about Haitian migrants eating pets.

The Aurora misinformation is about the city being overtaken by a Venezuelan gang.

Coffman told 9NEWS on Thursday that if Trump does come to the city, he will educate Trump on what is really happening but will not rally with him.

“I would hope that I could meet with the president, but I don’t necessarily need to attend a rally with the president,” Coffman said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for the city of Aurora to show the president that we are not a Venezuelan gang-infested community. That seems to be in the national narrative right now.”

A narrative that Coffman helped shape on an appearance on The Dan Caplis Show on conservative talk radio on July 31.

“If you know Aurora, then what you know is that we have areas in our city, unfortunately, that have been overtaken, and we have to take back,” Coffman said on July 31.

On Thursday, 9NEWS asked how much responsibility he accepts for creating that narrative.

“My initial comments were based on a police briefing,” Coffman said. “That was a snapshot at one point in time. Since that snapshot, some of the things that I was told, you know, like this gang is in control of the apartment buildings, and they’re collecting rent and stuff like that, you know, I’ve talked to a lot of the tenants of the building are not paying rent to anybody.” 

Should Trump campaign in Aurora, Coffman wants to show him that the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, is not controlling the city and that any issues are limited to a couple of apartment complexes.

“Did something bad happen at one point in time? Was it gang-related? Yes,” Coffman said. “Did we sit on our hands from this city’s law-enforcement perspective and not do anything? No. Have we effectively dealt with the issue? Yes.”

“The mayor has flip-flopped on his position, so, I don’t really think he’s in a position to educate anyone about what’s really going on because frankly I’m not clear, he’s clear,” Aurora City Councilwoman Crystal Murillo said. “You could easily retweet. You could easily send an email if you wanted to clarify facts.”

Murillo does not believe Trump wants a campaign stop to become an educational visit.

“This is not about illuminating the truth,” Murillo said. “This is about a political campaign based on lies and fearmongering and racism. He’s more insistent on spreading lies for his own political gain. So, I don’t think that’s in the benefit of our community that we continue to entertain that.”

She is also concerned about Aurora taxpayers footing a bill for a campaign visit. Trump’s campaign has a history of not paying bills following campaign stops.

“If this happens, I think the city should ask for those costs in advance so that we’re not using taxpayer dollars,” Murillo said.

According to the city, Aurora Police are still checking with the Secret Service about if any reimbursement would come from the Secret Service or the campaign.

Murillo also said a potential visit could inform local voters who stand with Trump.

“If he comes here, I think it’s an opportunity for us to see who in our community aligns with lying to people,” Murillo said. “I don’t welcome politicians that base their campaigns based on lies and fearmongering.”

“We’re all in and look forward to showing the former president our city and breaking the narrative that’s out there,” Coffman said.

When asked if he thought the former president wanted to come and get educated that he was misinforming America, Coffman laughed.

“Probably not,” Coffman said with a chuckle.

And when asked if he has ever known the former president to say something like, “Thank you for educating me, I was wrong,” Coffman laughed again.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Coffman said. “I’m just hoping that — I’m leaning into it. I’m really hoping that the president will take me up on it.”

Coffman said it would be between the Secret Service and the Trump campaign if he wanted to do something outside of the apartment complexes but also thinks Trump should visit them firsthand.

“I think it would be great for him to see some of these apartment complexes, the fact that they are not controlled by Venezuelan gangs. I think that that would be important,” Coffman said.

Where would Trump hold a rally if there is one?

The General Manager of Stanley Marketplace said that the campaign has not reached out.

That was also the response from Stampede country-western nightclub near Parker Road and Havana Street.

Where would Coffman want to see a rally?

“You know, that’s a good question,” Coffman said. “I’m not sure that we have a venue, despite the fact that we’re the 51st largest city in America, that we have a venue that would accommodate all the people he would want. I would think maybe one of our stadiums, high school sports stadium. I don’t think that the Gaylord [Resort and Convention Center] would be suitable, so I think it would be challenging to have a venue as large as he would like.”

No matter where it was to happen, though, Coffman would not be there.

“What I hope to do is maybe, not be on the stage with the president, but to be able to show the president, to offer a tour of my city, for the president,” Coffman said. “I would hope that I could meet with the president, but I don’t necessarily need to attend a rally with the president.”

If Coffman does not want to attend a rally with Trump, is he going to vote for Trump?

“It’s not an easy decision for me,” Coffman said. “I’m a Republican. I’m not a Reagan Republican or a Trump Republican. I voted for Nikki Haley in the primary, but I’m going to support the Republican nominee.”

That was a long way of Coffman ultimately getting to his answer.

“Yes,” he said.