Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) wanted to make it absolutely clear to his fellow Republicans at their virtual state assembly on Saturday that he stands firmly with President Trump. In place of a standard candidate speech, Gardner’s campaign played a video montage of Trump praising Gardner as the two men shared the stage in February at the Trump campaign rally held in Colorado Springs.
President Trump: I want to bring up a man who’s going to win the election with us and really he has been- he’s been so rock solid. You know there were stories, will he…? Because we’re doing great in the state. We’re doing great. We fight together. And he’s been so great. Cory Gardner, please come on up, please.
Sen. Cory Gardner: Look at this enormous crowd! I can’t help but think about the enormous accomplishments we’ve had together over the past several years for this great state. The results are simply astounding because I believe in Colorado. I believe in America. I believe in the power of this great nation. And I believe in all of you. And I just have one message for all of you and to our friends and allies around the globe. When it comes to America, you ain’t seen nothing yet. God bless you. Let’s win in November!
Careful listeners will note that Trump starts and then stops a thought- “He’s been so rock solid. You know there were stories- will he…?” Although one can never be sure what the President was alluding to at that moment, it’s a reasonable guess that he was referring to Gardner’s support of President Trump, especially during the impeachment trial.
Both the President and Sen. Gardner took criticism for Trump’s most recent act of appreciation for Sen. Gardner, when he announced via Twitter that he was awarding Colorado 100 ventilators “at the request of Senator Gardner!” Gardner then went on Fox News to thank Trump for the shipment.
Gardner’s first words in the video are “Look at this enormous crowd!” Along with Denver Nuggets basketball games at the Pepsi Center, Trump’s rally was among the last large events in Colorado. The rally took place at the Broadmoor Arena in Colorado Springs, which has a capacity of 9,000. The Denver Post estimated as many as 20,000 people attended the event on February 20, with those who couldn’t get inside filling the parking lots. Three weeks later, Governor Polis announced a statewide ban on public gatherings of more than 250 people.
The full video of the GOP state assembly is available on the party’s Facebook page, with Gardner’s segment beginning at 1:12:35. There you can also see a brief speech from Gardner’s primary challenger Margot Dupré. Dupré is a real estate agent from Colorado Springs who launched her longshot challenge to Gardner because she believes there is too much corruption in the federal government.
