Gov. John Hickenlooper said Iowa, a state famous for corndogs and for being an important stop for presidential hopefuls to eat those corn ogs, was great.
Hickenlooper visited the Midwest state last week to participate in the Future Ready Iowa Summit (that name couldn't be an less conspicuous) to discuss jobs. It prompted further speculation about his political aspirations.
"We spoke about workforce!" Hickenlooper told reporters Thursday during a press conference. "I did not speak to Democrats. As a matter of fact, probably most people in that auditorium were mostly Republicans, I would guess. Probably not very useful."
Iowa's caucuses are know for offering an early look at where support for presidential hopefuls stands despite taking place in a state that's nowhere near close to reflecting the actual overall demographics of the country.
So has he purchased his return ticket yet?
"I have no plans to go back to Iowa," Hickenlooper said.
Hickenlooper would consider sending troops to the Mexican border if requested by Trump's Administration.
Last week, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis signed an order authorizing the deployment of up to 4,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. The idea came from President Trump, who sought military presence to curb immigration at a time when more Mexican immigrants are leaving the U.S. than arriving.
In case you're bad at geography, Colorado is not a border state, though it technically does border a Mexico.
So far, Hickenlooper said his office hasn't been asked to send troops.
"We'd certainly look at it," Hickenlooper said."In the past, Colorado has sent troops to the border for specific purposes. Generally, those troops have stayed under the authority of the governor. I think we'd certainly look at that. I mean we are Americans."
The last time Colorado sent troops to the U.S.-Mexico border was in 2006-2008 for Operation Jump Start. Hickenlooper's press secretary Jacque Montgomery said in an email that 159 Colorado National Guard members provided reinforcement to the U.S. Border Patrol under the direction of President George W. Bush. The state's national guard was not called during President Obama's Operation Phalanx, which started in 2010.
California Gov. Jerry Brown, whose state is ground zero for the resistance of Trump's policies, agreed this week to send 400 troops to the border. It came with a condition: KCRA reports Brown, a Democrat said the troops won't be used to enforce federal immigration laws.
Hickenlooper, also a Democrat, was asked if he would consider a similar provision. He said he would approach it in a "fact-based" way and said the state could get different kind of requests.
"We would look at each situation and make sure that it was an appropriate use of our national guard," Hickenlooper said. "Beyond that, I'd be answering hypotheticals. Let's see what the, what the request is and you know, if it's something that makes sense and is within the purvey of what our national guard really is intended to do."
This has been the latest edition of HICKENWATCHER, now with more actual Hickenlooper watch.
