Connect with us

Politics

Amid dangerous exaggerations about migrants, Trump says he’ll ‘rescue’ Aurora, Colorado

Published

on

Amid dangerous exaggerations about migrants, Trump says he’ll ‘rescue’ Aurora, Colorado

Donald Trump once again spread dangerously exaggerated claims about migrants having “invaded” and “conquered” Aurora, Colorado, intensifying his anti-immigration rhetoric and attacking Vice President Kamala Harris.

At a rally in Aurora on Friday, Trump repeated claims about a violent Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, “taking over” the city. The Republican presidential nominee, who has long supported capital punishmentalso called for the death penalty for migrants who kill U.S. citizens and law enforcement officers.

In a long, rambling speechTrump blamed Harris for allowing immigrants to enter from “the dungeons of the Third World, from prisons and jails, insane asylums and mental institutions” and who he claimed have preyed on “innocent Americans” across the country, including in Colorado’s third-largest city.

“I will rescue Aurora and every town that has been invaded and conquered,” Trump said.

Local officials in Aurora have repeatedly pushed back on Trump’s lies. Police have said they are investigating several gang members for involvement in crimes but rebutted the claim that any gang has “taken over.” Ahead of Trump’s rally on Friday, the city released a statement saying exactly that:

A gang has not ‘taken over’ the city. The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true. It is tragic that select individuals and entities have mischaracterized our city based on some specific incidents.

With less than a month until Election DayTrump has stepped up his nativist rhetoric as part of his well-worn tactic of stoking fears about immigration, one of the biggest issues in this race. But his singling out of specific cities like Aurora and Springfield, Ohio, have had serious ramifications for the communities there.

Prior to Trump’s rally, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican, said that claims about Venezuelan gang activity are “grossly exaggerated and have unfairly hurt the city’s identity and sense of safety.”

“The city and state have not been ‘taken over’ or ‘invaded’ or ‘occupied’ by migrant gangs,” Coffman said.

Aurora’s police chef, Todd Chamberlain, told NBC News that the city is “not overrun” and that it remains “a very safe city” with a “wonderful community that is incredibly diverse.”

Clarissa-Jan Lim

Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking/trending news blogger for BLN Digital. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.

Read More

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Politics

Hageman launches bid for Wyoming Senate seat

Published

on

Wyoming GOP Rep. Harriet Hageman on Tuesday announced her campaign for Senate, hoping to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis in next year’s election.

The Wyoming Republican is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, and with his backing she helped oust Republican then-Rep. Liz Cheney, a vocal critic of Trump’s, in the 2022 primary.

“This fight is about making sure the next century sees the advancements of the last, while protecting our culture and our way of life,” Hageman said in her launch video. “We must dedicate ourselves to ensuring that the next 100 years is the next great American century.”

Lummis announced she would not seek reelection last week, saying she felt like a “sprinter in a marathon” despite being a “devout legislator.” Hageman, who had been debating a gubernatorial bid, was expected to enter the Senate race.

Hageman touted her ties to the president in her announcement video, highlighting her record of support for Trump’s policies during her time in the House and vowing to keep Wyoming a “leader in energy and food production.”

“I worked with President Trump to pass 46 billion in additional funding for border security, while ensuring that Wyomingites do not pay the cost of new immigration. We work together to secure the border and fund efforts to remove and deport those in the country illegally,” she said.

Trump won the deep-red state by nearly 46 points in last year’s election, and Hageman herself was reelected by nearly 48 points, according to exit polling.

Still, Hageman bore the brunt of voters’ displeasure earlier this year during a town hall. As she spoke of the Department of Government Efficiency, federal cuts and Social Security, the crowd booed her.

Continue Reading

Politics

Ben Sasse says he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer

Published

on

Former Sen. Ben Sasse announced on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic pancreatic cancer.

The Nebraska Republican shared the news on X, writing in a lengthy social media post that he had received the diagnosis last week.

“Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence,” Sasse said. “But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.”

The two term senator retired in 2023 and then went on to serve as president of the University of Florida. He eventually left the school to spend more time with his wife, Melissa, after she was diagnosed with epilepsy.

Sasse continued to teach classes at University of Florida’s Hamilton Center after he stepped down as president. He previously served as a professor at the University of Texas, as an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services and as president of Midland University.

Sasse on Tuesday shared that he and his wife have only grown closer since and opened up about his children’s recent successes and milestones.

“There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst,” Sasse said. “As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come.”

Sasse said he’ll have more to share in the future, adding that he is “not going down without a fight” and will be undergoing treatment.

“Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape,” Sasse said.

Continue Reading

Politics

Cannon keeps Jack Smith’s classified records report under wraps for now

Published

on

Cannon keeps Jack Smith’s classified records report under wraps for now

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday lifted restrictions on the release of former special counsel Jack Smith’s findings from his investigation into President Trump’s handling of classified records — but she gave the president a 60-day window to challenge her order. Cannon did not immediately lift her order barring the Justice Department from sharing…
Read More

Continue Reading

Trending