Top NM Democrats call Trump’s visit a waste of time as Republicans claim gamesmanship

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

Several high-profile state Democrats held a news conference Wednesday taking aim at Trump, who is expected to arrive in New Mexico early Thursday and hold an afternoon rally near the Albuquerque International Sunport before heading to Nevada.

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

Meanwhile, Republicans accused state land commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, a Democrat, of ignoring an off-site parking provision for rally-goers.

Rep. James Townsend, R-Artesia, said the Trump campaign contracted to use the Isleta Amphitheater as a parking location so rallygoers could commute to the private hangar where the former president will speak.

He described the land commissioner’s actions to quash the scheme as “pure, naked, bitter partisanship.”

But Garcia Richard said Live Nation Entertainment, which leases the state trust land on which the amphitheater is located, does not have the authority to use the parking lot for off-site events.

“Since the meeting is not being held at the Isleta Amphitheater at this time, parking for an off-site event is not permitted,” Garcia Richard said in a statement Wednesday.

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

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

The Trump campaign also inquired about holding the rally at the Tingley Coliseum on the grounds of the New Mexico State Fair, but was told “no” because the historic building is undergoing a seat replacement project, said Ty Stevers, the media marketing manager for Expo New Mexico.

“Right now, we really can’t accommodate a crowd of that size,” Stevers told the Journal.

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

Rally is expected to attract large crowds, protests

Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said Wednesday that alternative parking near the Sunport had been secured, adding that the Trump rally would be “large and spectacular.”

“Nothing will stop President Trump from coming to New Mexico!” Pearce said in a statement. “President Trump has demonstrated his 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 and truly great again.”

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

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

Velasquez also claimed that Trump would undermine safety net programs like Social Security, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act if elected, 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 hate tour of the blue state and he 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 either major party presidential candidate during this year’s election cycle.

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

In 2019, he returned to the state — this time as president — for a rally in Rio Rancho, where he accused Democrats of “completely destroying” New Mexico’s economy.

In addition to Trump, Republican congressional candidate Yvette Herrell will also be among the speakers at Thursday’s rally, a campaign spokesperson confirmed.

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