Former President Donald Trump to visit Aurora on Friday

AURORA, Colo. — After weeks of uncertainty following his promise to come to Colorado, former President Donald Trump’s campaign confirmed he is coming to Aurora on Friday, Oct. 11.

Trump’s campaign says he will make a stop in Aurora on Friday, making good on a pledge to visit the city he has falsely claimed has been taken over by a Venezuelan gang. 

Trump will hold a 1 p.m. rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center, with doors opening at 10 a.m. More information is available on the Trump campaign website. 

The announcement from the Trump campaign described Aurora as a “war zone.” 

“Kamala’s border bloodbath has made every state a border state, leaving Colorado families at the mercy of criminals,” the Trump campaign said in a written statement. 

On Sept. 18, Trump vowed to visit Aurora within two weeks. He also said he would visit Springfield, Ohio. Trump has not announced a campaign stop in Springfield. 

Republican leaders in Springfield have said that Trump’s visit would place a financial and emotional strain on the city. 

The Trump campaign has pushed a false smear that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating cats and dogs. Trump recently said that his plan for the largest deportation in American history, to be carried out by local police forces, would begin in Aurora and Springfield. 

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican, told 9NEWS he will not appear at Trump’s rally. 

After Trump used the Sept. 9 presidential debate to repeat claims that the city of Aurora had been taken over by the gang, city leaders and Aurora Police released a joint statement saying that the gang’s impact was isolated to a few properties.   

Conservative Aurora City Councilmember Curtis Gardner, who pushed back against false claims about the Venezuelan gang, posted on X (formerly Twitter) in response to Trump’s initial announcement of plans to visit, “Hard pass on him using Aurora again.” 

Since first acknowledging the local presence of the gang, Tren de Aragua, in early August, Aurora Police said they have identified ten suspected Tren de Aragua members and arrested nine of them.