Ruling Colorado Democrats have assaulted rural Colorado for the past seven years under Gov. Jared Polis and the Democratic socialists who drive their massive legislative majorities.

They are destroying mining and oil-and-gas jobs while imposing wolves on Colorado ranchers and communities. The First Gentleman tried to appoint a blatantly anti-livestock production activist onto the state veterinary board. Polis proclaimed a “meat-out” holiday and urged people to not eat meat.  

Unfortunately, they have a new ally in their opposition to rural communities.  None other than President Donald Trump.

To be sure, on many issues Trump has been a counterbalance to much of the elitist hostility that Denver-Boulder Democrats show every day against communities who depend on agriculture and energy for their existence.  

But Trump has lost his way with his obsession with stolen election conspiracy theories that “prove” the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him when he lost to President Joe Biden.

Here in Colorado, his obsession manifests itself in the discredited, convicted and imprisoned Tina Peters who is serving a nine-year sentence for illegally tampering with Mesa County election equipment when she was the county clerk.

Trump has demanded for months that Peters be pardoned and released from prison. His rhetoric escalated to the point that he issued his own meaningless “pardon” of Peters even though she was prosecuted by the Mesa County district attorney, convicted by a Mesa County jury and sentenced by a Mesa County district judge in solidly Republican Mesa County where Trump got 62% of the vote in 2020.

Trump threatened Colorado with “harsh measures” if Peters is not released and in recent weeks that threat has become real.

What should have been the quick approval of federal disaster declarations for fires in Rio Blanco County and flooding in Pagosa Springs, became an opportunity for Trump to punish Colorado as he rejected the declarations.

Despite having been authorized for construction since 1962 and its funding receiving unanimous support in Congress in 2025, the Arkansas Valley Conduit water project was vetoed by Trump.

The Arkansas Valley Conduit would deliver clean drinking water to 50,000 people in 39 communities in Pueblo, Otero, Bent, Prowers, Kiowa and Crowley Counties.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a strong Trump ally, has done yeoman’s work for the project since being elected to Congress from the 3rd District in 2020 and when she was elected from the 4th District in 2024. U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd has joined that work when he was elected to succeed Boebert in the 3rd District.

Despite Trump wrapping himself in newfound concern for fiscal responsibility, there is no legitimate reason for him to deny disaster declarations for Rio Blanco County and Pagosa Springs and to veto the Arkansas Valley Conduit other than extracting retribution for the imprisonment of Tina Peters.

Democratic U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper rightfully opposed Trump’s actions but their crocodile tears only go so far when it comes to Democratic assaults on rural Colorado.

Bennet and Hickenlooper have quietly stood by while Polis and legislative Democrats try to shut down mining and oil-and-gas production while assaulting ranching and farming communities across the state.

Hickenlooper, in particular, unilaterally harmed a rural community when he was governor.

Shortly after being sworn-in as governor in 2011, Hickenlooper abruptly shut down a state prison located at Fort Lyon in rural Bent County resulting in precious jobs being lost. Adding insult to injury, he seemed oblivious to how that action deeply harmed a small, rural county.

Boebert tried valiantly to get the U.S. House of Representatives to override Trump’s veto of the conduit bill. Although she fell short of the necessary two-thirds vote, she was able to get 35 Republicans, including Colorado Republicans Hurd, U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank and U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, to join every Democratic member to vote to override the veto.

During her compelling floor speech, Boebert pointed out that Trump supported the conduit during his first term and his secretary of interior participated in the formal groundbreaking for the project.

There is much to appreciate about Trump’s successful efforts to cut taxes, secure the border, and confront hostile foreign interests.

But his vindictive obsession with stolen election theories and the release of convicted and imprisoned Tina Peters not only severely tarnishes that record, it puts him on the same side as ruling Colorado Democrats who want to destroy rural Colorado’s character and livelihoods.

Dick Wadhams is a former Colorado Republican state chairman who managed campaigns for U.S. Sens. Hank Brown and Wayne Allard, and Gov. Bill Owens.  He was campaign manager for U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota in 2004 when Thune unseated Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle.