Republican vice president nominee JD Vance has clashed with an American ABC host over claims Venezuelan gangs have “invaded” and “overrun” a city in the United States.
Donald Trump’s running mate sat down with “This Week” co-host Martha Raddatz on Sunday (local time) and was grilled about the former president’s allegation a group called Tren de Aragua had “taken over” apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado.
Speaking at last month’s televised debate with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Trump brought the city of 400,000 to national headlines and has since suggested the gang is causing “chaos and fear” and Aurora had become a “war zone”.
Vance stood by the former president when pressed in the ABC interview.
“Well, Martha, you just said the mayor said they were exaggerated. That means there’s got to be some element of truth here,” he said in response.
Raddatz fact checked the Republican, with the ABC host saying the incidents related to Venezuelan gang members were restricted to a “handful of apartments”.
“Do you hear yourself? Only ‘a handful of apartment complexes in America’ were taken over by Venezuelan gangs, and Donald Trump is the problem and not Kamala Harris’ open border?” Vance hit back quickly, adding their exchange was “interesting”.
He then accused Raddatz of “nit-picking” on Trump’s concerns and argued she should instead be focused on apartment complexes “being taken over by violent gangs”.
The Republican VP pick then slammed Harris who “bragged about opening the border” which has left Americans dealing with the “consequences”.
“We can do so much better, but frankly, we’re not going to do better, Martha, unless Donald Trump calls this stuff out. I’m glad that he did,” Vance said.
Trump at a rally in Aurora last week revealed he would remove immigrants who had connection to gangs under a new plan called Operation Aurora.
If elected into the White House, he would use the Alien Enemies Act 1798 to put criminals in jail or “kick them out of the country”, the 78-year-old told supporters.
The Colorado city’s mayor Mike Coffman has denied Aurora had become what Trump described as a “war zone” and that it was not overrun by Venezuelan gangs.
Following the former president’s rally in his city, Mr Coffman released a statement saying the comments from the Republican had been “grossly exaggerated”, adding the claims had “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,” part of his statement released to US media said.
The mayor stressed police have acted on “concerns” from residents.
Aurora Police Department Chief Todd Chamberlain over the weekend told NBC News the city is not “overrun” and it was still “very safe” for locals and visitors.
He acknowledged there is some gang activity in the city, but law enforcement are hopeful and working to “make sure that doesn’t grow”.
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Publish date : 2024-10-14 08:59:00
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