Former Rep. Tom Tancredo criticized Rep. Mike Coffman for some aspects of his visit to an Aurora mosque late last month. He told KNUS 710-AM’s Peter Boyles that he’s “furious” with Coffman’s political transformation, and that, as far as he’s concerned, Coffman has “gone wacko.”
Coffman delivered a speech in which he expressed to the primarily Muslim audience that he would work to bring families together, according to an unnamed guest on Boyles’ show who was allegedly at the mosque on the day of the visit. She told Tancredo and Boyles that Coffman failed to mention any sort of plan that would clarify what exactly he meant by the comment.
He also reportedly partook in the scheduled prayer, including the customary kneeling and other associated rituals.
Tancredo and Boyles blasted Coffman for his apparent secrecy, pointing to the absence of a press release or anything on his campaign schedule regarding the visit.
Tancredo did, however, assert that it’s not the visit itself that bothers him. He told Boyles that “what you say when you get there and what you do when you get there, that’s a different story altogether.” Tancredo later said that he would not pray in a mosque.
Tancredo is primarily concerned with Coffman’s statement on uniting families, especially while addressing a Muslim audience, and what it means for his stance on immigration.
Coffman has historically been tough on immigration, and was even associated with the birther movement after comments he made in 2012. Since he denounced Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, however, his stance on the issue has been less clear.
Boyles suggests Coffman’s revised stance on immigration could be related to his decision to distance himself from Trump. Critics of Coffman attribute his transformation on issues like immigration to political opportunism, rather than a genuine ideological shift.
Tancredo told Boyles that he thinks Coffman went too far in going against Trump. He also says he believes conservatives lose nothing if Coffman loses to state Sen. Morgan Carroll in the upcoming election, even going so far as to say she might be more conservative on immigration than her opponent. This claim has been contested.
Tancredo called for Coffman to “make public what his intentions were in being there, what he actually said, and what he meant by what he said.”
He hasn’t.
To hear the entire interview with former Congressman Tom Tancredo on the Peter Boyles Show (KNUS, 710am) from August 29, 2016, click here.
See photos of Coffman apparently at the mosque here.
