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Trump attempts to woo Colorado voters

At conservative summit, he acknowledges swing state’s importance

DENVER – In an effort to win battleground Colorado, Republican Donald Trump on Friday outlined his support for gun rights and a desire to curb illegal immigration and reach evangelicals.

Speaking at the Western Conservative Summit – the first presumptive presidential candidate to attend the annual event in its seven-year history – Trump made his first campaign stop in Colorado.

“We do have to win Colorado. I will be back a lot,” Trump told the audience in a half-filled Colorado Convention Center ballroom.

He walked into relatively unfriendly territory. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz swept the April state GOP convention, with delegates expressing little love for Trump.

Trump acknowledged his poor showing in Colorado, but blamed it on the fact that Colorado Republicans opted not to hold a preference poll at the March 1 caucus.

“Colorado has taught me a lot about politics ...” Trump said. “The polls came out that I was going to win Colorado ... I was looking forward to it, and then all of a sudden I didn’t get the delegates. I said, ‘What happened to the vote?’ I started to learn.”

Trump must make up ground with evangelical voters, as they had largely thrown their support behind Ben Carson in Colorado.

In recent weeks, Colorado Republicans have unified a bit around Trump, though concerns remain with the controversial, larger-than-life character, as he has been assailed for recent comments that observers viewed as racist.

Until this week, Trump has had a limited campaign presence in Colorado, falling in line with his lackluster fundraising nationally – less than $1.3 million in the bank as he headed into June, according to finance reports released last month.

The Trump campaign announced Wednesday that Patrick Davis, a seasoned Colorado Springs-based consultant, will serve as state director. It was the first sign of a strategy by the Trump campaign to win the critical swing state.

In stark contrast, Democrat Hillary Clinton has had a presence in Colorado since last year, making several campaign stops in the state. Clinton was in Denver on Tuesday.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin – a conservative icon – introduced Trump on Friday. Palin offered him an initial boost when she endorsed him in January.

She fought back against allegations of racism and sexism, suggesting that the left and a liberal media are forcing a false narrative against Trump.

Palin encouraged all Republicans to rally behind Trump, saying that the “never Trump” GOP crowd really just represents “Republicans against Trump,” or “RATs.”

“Trump shattered voter turnout records, and like a golden wrecking ball, he ... knocked out the hypocritical intolerance that dares stymie freedom of speech with intimidation,” Palin said.

She also said she was in “awe” of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Darryl Glenn, who won the Colorado primary Tuesday but who now faces an uphill battle against incumbent Democrat Michael Bennet.

Palin highlighted how a Glenn victory is critical to confirming a conservative U.S. Supreme Court. Trump also underscored how the presidential race is a referendum on the high court.

Palin had strong words for anti-Trump protesters gathered outside the convention center: “He (Trump) should hold his rallies at construction sites. Protesters aren’t going to show up at a jobs site.”

In response to Palin’s comments about protesters not working, Ian Silverii, executive director of left-leaning ProgressNow Colorado, said, “Apparently, Republicans don’t show up to conservative summits, either,” referencing the empty seats in the ballroom.

Several groups demonstrated in Civic Center Park during the Trump speech, constructing a 9-foot-high, 30-foot-long “wall” of cardboard boxes to mock Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the Mexico border and have Mexico pay for it.

“People are talking about building literal walls to separate people these days, so we thought it would be cool to put a wall up so we could tear it down,” Silverii said.

Outside the Colorado Convention Center, anti-Trump protesters held signs that read “It’s OK to hate Trump.”

One pro-Trump organization, 3 Percent United Patriots of Colorado, a group that is dedicated to “the embodiment of man’s desire for freedom,” organized a private security detail to respond if any protests became violent. The men wore earpieces to communicate with each other as they roamed blocks outside the convention center.

Capt. Yota, a member of the patriots group who would not reveal his real name, said of the effort, “We are making sure that pro-Trump supporters don’t get beat up by people that might interfere with our rights to hear our candidate.”

The Associated Press reported that three people were arrested after clashes between Trump supporters and protesters.

Police moved in after a man grabbed pro-Trump bumper stickers from a woman selling them outside the city’s convention center, ripped some and threw them in her face. A pushing match followed, and people spilled into the street.

Police in SWAT gear swarmed the crowd and ordered people to get out of the street. They led two men – the man who took the bumper stickers and a man who stepped in between him and the woman with the stickers – into the same police van. A woman who refused to put out some burning sage was also arrested and later released.

pmarcus@durangoherald.com



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