AURORA, Colo. — Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump is making a campaign stop Friday in Aurora.
With the event at the Gaylord Rockies resort, Trump is making good on a pledge to visit the city he has falsely claimed has been taken over by a Venezuelan gang.
The rally began around 11:15 a.m. with an introduction by Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams, followed by speeches by Colorado Republican leaders.
Several rally attendees told 9NEWS that the issues of illegal immigration and safety were top of mind.
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who represents District 3 and is running for election in District 4 in November, took the stage to chants of her name. She discussed the "crisis at the border" and said "you've got gangs like Tren de Aguara turning apartment complexes into their own playgrounds."
Trump took the stage just after 1:40 p.m.
> Watch the full rally live in the video player above or on YouTube here:
Outside the rally, 9NEWS spoke with Aurora resident Ron Newman. Newman supports Trump but said he doesn't agree with everything the former president has said.
"The Venezuelan gang stuff is bull----," Newman said.
"Not a war zone," Newman said of the city. "Not a war zone. None of that is true."
Newman said if he could meet Trump, he would tell him Aurora is a safe place to live.
"Come to Aurora. That's what I would tell him," he said.
Traffic impacts
Local police said drivers should expect traffic impacts in the area of the Gaylord Rockies resort Friday. The resort is located northeast of 64th Avenue and Tower Road, near Denver International Airport on the northern edge of Aurora.
The Aurora Police Department said officers will be on East 64th Avenue in front of the resort to assist with traffic control.
Trump has a rally scheduled in Reno, Nevada Friday evening.
'I'm going to Springfield and I'm going to Aurora'
The news release from the Trump campaign announcing the stop described Aurora as a “war zone.”
“Kamala’s border bloodbath has made every state a border state, leaving Colorado families at the mercy of criminals,” the release said.
On Sept. 18, Trump vowed to visit Aurora within two weeks. He also said he would visit Springfield, Ohio. The Trump campaign has pushed a false smear that Haitian migrants there are eating cats and dogs. Trump has not announced a campaign stop in Springfield.
Trump recently said that his plan for the largest deportation in American history, to be carried out by local police forces, would begin in Aurora and Springfield.
RELATED: Trump seizes on one block of a Colorado city to warn of migrant crime threat, even as crime dips
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican, told 9NEWS he will not appear at Trump’s rally.
"Former President Trump’s visit to Aurora is an opportunity to show him and the nation that Aurora is a considerably safe city – not a city overrun by Venezuelan gangs," the mayor said in a statement earlier this week. "My public offer to show him our community and meet with our police chief for a briefing still stands."
After Trump used the Sept. 9 presidential debate to repeat claims that the city of Aurora had been taken over by the gang, city leaders and Aurora Police released a joint statement saying that the gang’s impact was isolated to a few properties.
Conservative Aurora City Councilmember Curtis Gardner, who pushed back against false claims about the Venezuelan gang, posted on X (formerly Twitter) in response to Trump’s initial announcement of plans to visit, "Hard pass on him using Aurora again."
Since first acknowledging the local presence of the gang, Tren de Aragua, in early August, Aurora Police said they have identified ten suspected Tren de Aragua members and arrested nine of them.
Democrat Joe Biden won Colorado in the 2020 presidential election with 55% of the vote.
The Colorado Democratic Party said in a statement Monday that Trump's visit could impact Republican candidates in down ballot races in November.
“The last time Donald Trump came to Colorado, he helped make certain Cory Gardner would lose his election, and he appears set to do the same to Republican candidates across the state when he visits Aurora this Friday,” Shad Murib, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, said in the statement. “Coloradans aren’t fooled: Trump isn’t coming to Aurora to talk about lifting up working people and creating a safer, more prosperous America; Trump is coming to spew hatred and division that’s not reflective of the Colorado we fight for every day. Hopefully he plays his greatest hits before his supporters start leaving the rally early, per usual.”
Trump's rally is the same day that the state's county clerks began sending mail-in ballots to voters for the Nov. 5 election.
This story includes previous reporting by Kyle Clark and Marissa Solomon.
