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Top NM Democrats call Trump’s visit a waste of time, while Republicans accuse him of having fun

Top NM Democrats call Trump’s visit a waste of time, while Republicans accuse him of having fun

Oct. 30—SANTA FE — Top New Mexico Democrats are not rolling out the red carpet for former President Donald Trump’s visit to Albuquerque.

Several prominent state Democrats held a news conference Wednesday sharply criticizing Trump, who is scheduled to arrive in New Mexico early Thursday morning and hold a noon rally near Sunport International Port in Albuquerque before heading to Nevada.

“We want to send a message to Donald Trump that his hate is not welcome here in New Mexico,” said U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, who represents Albuquerque.

Meanwhile, Republicans accused state Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, a Democrat, of failing to enforce off-area parking arrangements for rallygoers.

Rep. James Townsend, R-Artesia, said the Trump campaign has an agreement to use the Isleta Amphitheater as a parking space so rallygoers can be transported to a private hangar where the former president will speak.

He described the Land Commissioner’s actions to destroy the agreement as “pure, naked and vicious bias”.

Garcia Richard, however, said Live Nation Entertainment, which leases the state-owned land on which the amphitheater is located, has no authority to use the parking lot for any off-site events.

“Since the rally is not taking place at the Isleta Amphitheater at this time, off-site parking for the event is not permitted,” Garcia Richard said in a statement Wednesday.

The parking dispute comes after the Trump campaign unsuccessfully tried to reserve the Albuquerque Convention Center for the former president’s Thursday rally.

Mayor Tim Keller’s administration cited planned water main repairs as the reason for denying use of the convention center, although Keller said Wednesday that Trump’s unpaid bills stemming from a 2019 campaign visit were also a factor.

Trump campaign insiders also asked about holding a rally at Tingley Coliseum at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds, but were told no because the historic building is undergoing a seat replacement project, said Ty Stevers, media marketing manager for Exhibition New Mexico.

“We really can’t accommodate a crowd of this size at this point,” Stevers told the Journal.

After rejecting these inquiries, the Trump campaign ultimately decided to hold the rally at a private hangar owned by CSI Aviation. The president of CIA Aviation is former state Republican Party chairman Allen Weh, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2014.

The rally was expected to draw large crowds and protests

State Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said Wednesday that alternate parking lots had been secured near Sunport, adding that Trump’s rally would be “huge and spectacular.”

“Nothing will stop President Trump from coming to New Mexico!” Pearce said in a statement. “President Trump has demonstrated a commitment to winning our great state year after year, and now he returns to show New Mexicans how much he cares about making their communities safe, prosperous, secure and truly great again.”

His counterpart, state Democratic Party Chairwoman Jessica Velasquez, said Trump “will be wasting his time in New Mexico,” referring to Kamala Harris’ lead in recent polls for the New Mexico presidential race.

A Republican hasn’t won New Mexico’s five electoral votes since George W. Bush did so in 2004, and Trump lost the state in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

Velasquez also claimed that Trump, if elected, would crush safety net programs like Social Security, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, even though he failed to repeal the landmark 2010 health care law during his first term as president.

“Donald Trump is coming to New Mexico as part of his blue state hate tour and wants to spread his divisive rhetoric here,” Velasquez said.

Trump’s previous visits to New Mexico

Trump’s visit to New Mexico marks the first campaign stop in the state by a presidential candidate of either major party during this year’s election cycle.

Trump previously held two campaign rallies in Albuquerque in 2016, including a downtown rally in May 2016 that sparked a raucous riot as protesters jumped on police cars, smashed windows and fought with Trump supporters and police.

He returned to the state in 2019 – this time as president – at a rally in Rio Rancho where he accused Democrats of seeking the “total annihilation” of New Mexico’s economy.

In addition to Trump, Republican congressional candidate Yvette Herrell will also speak at Thursday’s rally, a campaign spokesman confirmed.

Herrell is in a tight race for the state’s 2nd Congressional District seat against Democrat Gabe Vasquez, who defeated her to win the seat in 2022.