Donald J. Trump called Colorado a must-win state as he talked about topics ranging from immigration to free trade to national security on Friday night before a fired-up Denver crowd.
“I have so many friends here,” the Republican presidential nominee proclaimed. “We have to win this state.”
Trump added that he plans to visit Colorado so often in the coming months that people are going to want him to stay away.
Trump’s speech before several thousand packed into the Wings Over the Rockies museum in east Denver lasted just under an hour. But eager supporters arrived more than twice that long before the candidate was scheduled to appear, hopeful about his first truly-public appearance in the Mile High City.
A traditional swing state, Colorado shows up as a “must-win” for both Trump and his opponent Hillary Clinton on many electoral maps. Clinton recently pulled back on her advertising in the state, an indication her campaign is comfortable with her numbers here. But there have been unconfirmed reports she will be in Colorado next week.
Among the wide-ranging subjects he tackled, Trump attacked Clinton for not addressing shootings of police officers, unemployment and home ownership during her Thursday night speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination.
“She didn’t talk about that house ownership is the lowest it’s been in 51 years,” Trump said. “That’s a heck of a number. Who ever heard of that?”
He added: “Nobody has ever seen anything like what’s going on.”
“She is as crooked as a $3 dollar bill,” Trump says of Hillary. He says if he doesn’t win it will be a waste of money, time.
— Jesse Aaron Paul ☀ (@JesseAPaul) July 30, 2016
On immigration, Trump again vowed to build a wall between the United State and Mexico, pointing to the aircraft museum’s ceiling — roughly a hundred-feet high — as a hyperbolic example for how tall it could be.
“That’s going to go up so fast your head will spin, your head will spin,” Trump said.
“Im not saying it’s pleasant,” Trump says of waterboarding. “But believe me it works."
— Jesse Aaron Paul ☀ (@JesseAPaul) July 30, 2016
The Republican billionaire also vowed to beef up the nation’s military, stop “radical Islamic terrorism” and “knock the hell out of ISIS.” Trump said, as well, that he would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and protect Second-Amendment rights.
Trump’s two stops Friday — which included an early afternoon appearance in Colorado Springs — represented the third and fourth Colorado events of his presidential run. Trump attended the CNBC presidential debate in Boulder last October. He spoke, along with supporter Sarah Palin, at the July 1 opening of the Western Conservative Summit in Denver.
Trump touched on similar topics and had similar phrasing during both speeches.
Daniel Whited, of Littleton, said the only part of Trump’s speech in Denver that he didn’t like was the length.
“I wished it went longer,” he said. “This man loves America.”
Whited said the candidate’s appearance shored up his support of him. He explained that he could see a part of Trump’s “heart” that’s not tangible on television.
“I liked hearing him say ‘we,'” Whited’s wife, Helen, said. “He’s speaking for us. He’s a part of us.”
Bob Dillinger, of Parker, was hoping before Trump’s appearance that he would be formal in his temperament. Dillinger, who spent more than two decades in the Department of Defense before his recent retirement, said he’s leaning toward voting for Trump, but hasn’t fully thrown his support behind him.
“I’m hoping he’s a bit more presidential,” Dillinger explained, adding that he dislikes Hillary Clinton because of the e-mail controversy encircling her.
#DonaldTrump rally at the Wings Over the Rockies Museum in Denver! @denverpost pic.twitter.com/3IvgKLim51
— RJ Sangosti (@RJSangosti) July 29, 2016
Others, like Harold Lee, of Aurora, said Trump’s lack of political correctness is what he likes about the candidate. He was a fan of President Obama until, as Lee puts it, he “showed his true colors.”
“I’m behind Trump 100 percent,” Lee said as he stood waiting for the nominee’s appearance. “Hillary Clinton is the number one liar in the United States.”
Crowd streaming out pic.twitter.com/cKymRMdxSg
— Jesse Aaron Paul ☀ (@JesseAPaul) July 30, 2016
As Trump ended his Denver appearance and day in Colorado, his booming voice echoed in throughout the plane museum’s aircraft hangar.
“We’re going to keep winning!” he exclaimed, before heading off stage to shake hands with supporters. “We’re going to win, win, win! We’re going to win so much!”
He added: “We are going to make America greater than ever before! We’re going to make America safer, safer, safer than ever before.”
Trump’s last words were drowned out by the crowd’s deafening roar.
