GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance clashed with ABC News host Martha Raddatz during a heated interview on Sunday. The topic? Venezuelan migrant gang members in Aurora, Colorado.
“I’m going to stop you,” Raddatz interrupted. She insisted the incidents were isolated to a few apartment buildings. "A handful of problems," she added, challenging Vance on Trump’s statements about the gang presence.
The controversy stemmed from arrests in September. Surveillance footage showed armed men kicking down a door, with ties to the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua.
“Martha, do you hear yourself?” Vance shot back. He argued that focusing on Trump missed the bigger issue: violent gangs in American communities. “Americans are so fed up,” he added, pointing to what he called a failure at the border.
He blamed the surge on unvetted migrants. "Kamala Harris’ 94 executive orders that undid Donald Trump’s successful border policies," Vance claimed, led to this chaos.
Raddatz didn’t back down. She clarified, "They did not invade or take over the city as Donald Trump said."
"A few apartment complexes, no big deal," Vance responded sarcastically.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican, responded to Trump’s rally comments. Trump had vowed to deport every illegal alien gang member, claiming they had taken over the city.
Coffman, however, downplayed the issue. He said the gang activity had been exaggerated, limited to specific apartment complexes, and the city wasn’t "taken over." He reassured residents that the police had it under control.