Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and U.S. Rep. Jason Crow both criticized a Republican plan for a second Donald Trump presidency during primetime speeches at the Democratic National Convention this week, while U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse praised Vice President Kamala Harris’ previous support for education.
Oh, and Polis cracked a Taylor Swift reference, continuing his emerging tradition of shoehorning in Swifty humor whenever possible.
The three Colorado Democrats each delivered roughly two-minute speeches at the Democrats’ Chicago convention — Polis spoke Wednesday, Neguse and Crow on Thursday — as the party formally nominated Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as its presidential ticket for November.
The trio formed the de facto face of a Colorado delegation that featured both U.S. senators, John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, as well as Attorney General Phil Weiser, Treasurer Dave Young, and several state lawmakers, among others.
In their speeches, Polis and Crow both wielded giant book-sized versions of Project 2025, the nearly 1,000-page plan drawn up by Republican groups for a second Trump term. Among other things, the plan includes recommending that the Food and Drug Administration reverse its years-old approval of mifepristone, which is used in medication abortion.
Trump has sought to distance himself from Project 2025.
Polis’ comments largely focused on the plan’s references to abortion access, while Crow — a former Army Ranger — criticized its provisions related to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and NATO.
“Democrats welcome weird, but we’re not weirdos telling families who can and can’t have kids, who to marry or how to live our lives,” Polis said Wednesday, leaning on a Walz jab of Republican policies as “weird.” “These Project 2025 people like Trump and (running mate Sen. JD) Vance are not just weird; they’re dangerous. They want to take us backwards, but we aren’t going back — like ever, ever, ever.”
(That’s the Swift reference.)
Polis has been a public supporter of Harris — and, now, Walz — since President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection last month. Asked before his speech if he would serve in a Harris cabinet, Polis told The Denver Post that he planned to finish his term as governor, which ends in 2026.
Neguse, the fourth-ranking member of the U.S. House’s minority leadership, used his brief speech Thursday to praise Harris and her past work on education. He pointed to her support for historically black colleges and universities and to her time as California attorney general, when she secured a $1.1 billion judgment against a for-profit secondary education company over its predatory practices.
The convention ends Thursday night.
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Originally Published: August 22, 2024 at 6:53 p.m.
