Updated at 11:04 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024
Aurora’s unlikely role in the presidential election will hit its apex on Friday as former President Donald Trump comes to town.
It began with footage of armed men entering an apartment building. Then concerns about crime and disrepair in apartment buildings near Colfax Avenue ballooned into hyperbolic — and outright false — claims about a citywide gang takeover.
Aurora got multiple mentions, none of them good, in Trump’s stump speeches and the presidential debate.
But what should we actually expect during Colorado’s first visit by a presidential nominee since 2020? (Vice President Kamala Harris came to Denver this year, but that was before she became the Democratic nominee.)
Alison Coombs, an Aurora City Council member, hopes it’s a nothing-burger.
“It looks like he’s just going to the Gaylord, which is pretty close to the airport,” she said on Tuesday. “I’m not sure he actually intends to see any of Aurora.”
But others aren’t so sure what to expect.
Thousands could visit the Gaylord
Trump’s rally is planned for the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center — a sprawling facility known for its annual ice sculpture display, endless carpeted halls and, tragically, an HVAC system that collapsed in a pool and injured six.
The hotel is almost 15 miles from the Colfax Avenue apartment buildings at the heart of the story — and it’s not particularly close to much else, either.
City officials say they’re working with other agencies “as requested” to accommodate the visit. But it’s unclear when and whether Aurora residents should expect any street closures or other disruptions.
The Gaylord’s exhibition hall can accommodate nearly 10,000 people. The event is sold out, according to the Colorado Republican Party.
A Denver International Airport spokesperson didn’t share much: “Unfortunately, we are unable to share anything about Donald Trump’s visit or route.”
City officials are figuring out what to say.
Meanwhile, Aurora officials and residents are figuring out how to actually respond to whatever Trump says.
He has referred to Aurora as a “war zone,” and his campaign said neighboring Denver was a “sanctuary city … buckling under the strain” of immigration.
“Thank goodness it’s far away from the people who are being harmed by this message,” said Coombs, the Democratic council member. “That being said, a lot of our community members who are immigrants and refugees do work at the airport and in the surrounding area, so I think it’s still scary when you have someone who’s that vocally hateful and set on harming you and your family.”
Other city leaders hope Trump tours the community, though that seems unlikely.
Republican Mayor Mike Coffman has repeatedly invited Trump to see the city. Coffman hopes to dispel the false claim that Aurora has been “overrun by Venezuelan gangs.”
“My public offer to show him our community and meet with our police chief for a briefing still stands,” Coffman said in a news release. (He told Denverite in September he would not attend a rally.)
“The reality is that the concerns about Venezuelan gang activity have been grossly exaggerated,” the statement said “The incidents were limited to several apartment complexes in this city of more than 400,000 residents.”
Coffman’s office refused an interview ahead of the event.
We asked Aurora spokesperson Ryan Luby if the former president will take Coffman up on his offer for a tour.
“Ha,” he wrote us Tuesday. “I have absolutely no idea — not yet at least.”
On Thursday, Luby confirmed he still has not heard from the campaign.
In an act of counterprogramming, Gov. Jared Polis, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Reps. Jason Crow and Diana DeGette will host a press conference at 9 a.m. on Thursday in a yet-to-be-announced Aurora location.
And then there are the people of Aurora
Scott Pasternack runs a Colfax Avenue pawn shop that his father opened in the 1970s. He grew up in the neighborhood, and said the city neglected it long before claims of a “gang takeover” shined a national spotlight on the area.
He’s glad Trump is coming to town to draw attention to “problem areas” like this. He’s planning to cast a vote for the former president, but said he’d support Vice President Harris should she win in November.
“The more publicity that the city of Aurora gets, the better this city becomes,” he said. “Mike has to clean up this area.”
He hopes Trump accepts Coffman’s offer for a tour.
“He should take a ride,” he added.
A woman named Ernie, who we met at the Green Valley Ranch King Soopers near the Gaylord Rockies and declined to give her last name, said the same.
“Why doesn’t he go out to Aurora and stay out there and see how it really is?” she said, “I don’t think it’s really going to matter if he does or not, because I don’t think he’s going to tell the truth about it.”
Mango House, the clinic and food incubator serving Aurora’s refugee and immigrant populations, urged Facebook followers to dine with them Friday instead of engaging with the former president’s visit.
“Trump is coming to Aurora Friday to rally against immigrants in Aurora,” they wrote. “Helping refugees, asylees, and undocumented folks in Aurora has been our business for more than a decade.”
Maria Lopez, who was walking her daughter into their home near The Edge at Lowry apartment complex, said she hopes any such visit would make a difference. Things here have been unusually rough, she told us.
“We lived peacefully,” she said in Spanish. “Now, when we arrive at night, we run.”
A few blocks from her home, at Lowry Park, we met Lado Jurkin, an immigrant from South Sudan who was hanging out with some guys under a pavilion.
Let Trump come, he said, because it won’t make a difference. The American government, both parties, have pushed foreign policy that’s ruined countries in Africa and South America, Lado said.
“What are we doing to better those guys in those countries?” he asked.
And yeah, he added, he worries anti-immigrant rhetoric from politicians like Trump will greet refugees when they arrive.
A man named Romeo, who was sitting nearby and declined to give his last name, said all this focus on the border misses a bigger point.
“We need resources for everybody,” he said. “That’s what I think a president or a leader or a commander should worry about: How everybody, at some point, is being taken care of.”
It’s been tough for Romeo to watch so many newcomers receive housing support, as he’s struggled with homelessness for the last year.
“We need resources for everyday citizens,” Romeo said.
What Trump rally attendees should know about parking and bag policies
- Time: Trump is scheduled to speak at 1 p.m. Doors will open at 10 a.m. However, people who really want to attend should be in line by 7 a.m. or even earlier, according to Nancy Pallozzi, chair of the Jeffco GOP.
- Parking: The Gaylord is not allowing rally attendees to park at the facility unless they’re renting a room. A spokesperson for the resort didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The state GOP advised people to park at the RTD lot at 61st and Peña or the privately operated The Parking Spot lot at East 56th Avenue and Himalaya Road, saying that shuttles will serve those lots. The shuttles may require cash payment. - Bag policy: Purses and backpacks won’t be allowed in the rally. The state party said clutch-sized bags will be allowed, or clear bags up to 12 inches x 6 inches x 12 inches.
Denverite reporter Kyle Harris contributed to this report.