UNIONDALE, NY — During a rally in New York Wednesday, former President Donald Trump said he will visit Aurora "in the next two weeks."
The Republican presidential nominee has made several references to Aurora on the campaign trail, claiming a Venezuelan gang has "taken over" the city. He first referenced the Colorado city during the presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
"We have millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums," he said. "They're coming in and they're taking jobs that are occupied right now by African Americans and Hispanics and also unions... You see what's happening with towns throughout the United States. You look at Springfield, Ohio. You look at Aurora in Colorado. They are taking over the towns. They're taking over buildings. They're going in violently. These are the people that [Vice President Kamala Harris] and [President Joe Biden] let into our country. And they're destroying our country. They're dangerous. They're at the highest level of criminality."
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican, refuted those claims to Denver7.
"There's no question there have been some issues, but it's been so dramatically exaggerated that it’s the entire city being overrun by criminal or gang activity," Coffman told Denver7. "That couldn’t be further from the truth."
Then, during a press conference in California, Trump again singled out Aurora, promising to conduct “large deportations” of immigrants.
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Trump held a campaign rally in Uniondale, New York, on Wednesday, where he announced he would be visiting Aurora and Springfield, Ohio. Springfield has also gained national attention following debunked claims that immigrants were eating residents' pets.
The former president said he will be visiting the two cities "in the next two weeks."
"I'm going to go there in the next two weeks. I'm going to Springfield and I'm going to Aurora," Trump said. "You may never see me again. But that's OK. I got to do what I gotta do."
He also attacked Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, in his remarks.
"No, we’ve got to save our country. Our country’s going down. If you look at what's happening with the Venezuelans taking over — I mean, they're taking over large pieces of real estate in Colorado. And you have a Democrat governor who's petrified of them. He's afraid. I've never seen anything like it, and he doesn't want to talk about it. They've taken over your buildings and your land. You’ve got to do something about it," Trump said.
In a statement, Polis said if the former president does visit, he will "find the city of Aurora is a strong, vibrant, and diverse city."
Full statement:
“The reality is, Donald Trump continues to tell economically damaging and hurtful lies about Aurora. If former president Trump does visit, he will find the city of Aurora is a strong, vibrant, and diverse city of more than 400,000 hardworking Coloradans and a wonderful place to live, run a business, raise a family, and retire. I hope the former President takes some time and enjoys some of my favorite haunts like Golden Saigon and Stanley Marketplace. In Aurora, as in Colorado, we have people from all over the world who contribute every day to making it the dynamic, amazing place that it is.”
The City of Aurora said it had not yet been notified of any formalized plans for a visit involving Trump.
Trump did not elaborate on the plans for his Aurora visit. The Republican nominee was in Colorado last month for a fundraising event in Aspen, where tickets started at $25,000 per couple.
On Thursday, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman told Denver7 he sees Trump's potential visit as an opportunity to push back against the narrative that Venezuelan gangs were taking over the city — a claim that is false.
Watch his full interview in the video player below.
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