‘How Much Do We Want to Give Him Air?’— A Governor Grapples With Trump’s ‘Insanity’
The ex-president is descending on Aurora, Colorado today. Gov. Jared Polis talks about what to expect.
DONALD TRUMP IS HOLDING A CAMPAIGN rally in Aurora, Colorado, today as part of his ongoing campaign portraying the suburb of Denver as beset by roving bands of killer Venezuelan migrants who have more powerful weaponry than the U.S. military.
Aurora has taken on quasi-mythical status in Trump’s efforts to run the most doggedly anti-immigrant campaign in modern political history. The former president has gone so far as to claim that the crisis there is so grave it could result in Colorado’s Democratic governor Jared Polis fleeing the state.
So we checked in on Gov. Polis, who is safely ensconced in colorful Colorado. It was, he conceded, tricky to figure out how to counteract Trump’s demonization of the city.
“How much do we want to give him air? We’re talking about him. That’s what he wants. I’m trying to shift to how great Aurora is. I mean, whether it’s Koreatown or Stanley Marketplace or, you know, the new rec center that was actually funded by marijuana dollars . . . Aurora’s got a lot going on, and I’d love to pivot to that and attract more businesses and families to our third largest city. . . . Not only is all well. It’s better than it was. It is a much better city than it was in the ’80s and ’90s, and frankly, it is a safer city than it was two years ago.”
Polis also explained his rationale for supporting Kamala Harris, who he believes will be a “better president” than Joe Biden, and his fears of what might happen if Trump wins.
“I think we all realize it’s gonna be so painful to white knuckle the next four years over this lunacy,” he said. “So please, let’s elect Kamala Harris. This is just insanity.”
Thank you, Tim! You gotta enjoy checking in on your old sod. CO is such a fantastic place, first visited as a teenager in 1970, later had a college friend who moved there & provided place to crash for visits in 1980s, now have relatives living there since turn of the century.
Sure appreciate Gov. Polis speaking candidly about the damage being done by the Divider-in-Chief. He was pretty diplomatic. The balancing act between wanting to speak up for one's constituents, one's home VS not giving more megaphone to the menace... tough spot for an actual leader. Polis did better than, oh I dunno, Governors DeWine, Kemp, DeSantis. How is it NOT disqualifying to run for prez on a platform of directing negative attention to random locations in the great country one seeks to lead? ...rhetorically asking. I know the answers, I've read your book, & Stuart Stevens, & Tom Nichols, & Tim Snyder...