'Paradise lost' Trump holding rallies in liberal cities, trashes them

Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump made rare campaign stops in Colorado and California, states he is likely to lose in the 2024 election. In his speeches, he painted dire pictures of the places hosting him.

He called Aurora, Colorado a "war zone," raising alarms about Venezuelan gangs, which the mayor has said are "grossly exaggerated." He called California a "paradise lost," accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of making it the state with "the most decay." Those comments came days after he insulted Detroit at a rally in Detroit.

Trump may be diverting resources away from swing states, not to woo voters, but to send a message to his base elsewhere, according to Northeastern University political science professor Costas Panagopoulos.

"It's certainly not by accident that Trump is in these places, in part because he is trying to create the impression that he's willing to go into the belly of the beast and do battle and be in unfriendly territory to bring to life an issue that's near and dear to his campaign," Panagopoulos told USA TODAY.

"There's something to be said for being physically present and on the ground when you're talking about specific places to give the audience the impression you know what you're talking about," he said.

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Aurora, Colorado, mayor says Trump's claims 'grossly exaggerated'

After mentioning at the presidential debate that Aurora was being taken over by Venezuelan gangs, Trump repeated the claim at a rally in Aurora, Colorado Friday, calling the city a "war zone."

Aurora's Republican Mayor Mike Coffman said he hoped Trump would be able to see that the city was safe, but he was disappointed by how little time Trump spent in the Denver suburb.

"I cannot overstate enough that nothing was said (Friday) that has not been said before and for which the city has not responded with the facts," Coffman said in a statement shared with USA TODAY on Monday. "Again, the reality is that the concerns about Venezuelan gang activity in our city – and our state – have been grossly exaggerated and have unfairly hurt the city’s identity and sense of safety."

Trump lost Colorado in both 2016 and 2020. Polls show Harris leading Trump by more than 10 percentage points, according to FiveThirtyEight.

California is a 'paradise lost,' Trump promises to rescue it

At a rally in southern California's Coachella Valley Saturday, Trump bashed the state and blamed Harris for its condition.

“The radical-left Democrats have destroyed this state, but we are going to save it, and we’re going to make it better than ever before,” Trump said.

He also said immigrants in California are violent (as USA TODAY previously reported, there is no evidence that immigrants commit crimes at a higher rate than natural-born citizens), and called California a "paradise lost."

While thousands attended this rally, California is a firmly blue state. Trump lost the state by nearly 30 percentage points in 2020. Harris has consistently led Trump by 20 percentage points over the last month, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Trump warns US will turn into Detroit if Harris wins at Detroit rally

At a rally Thursday, Trump bashed Detroit, Michigan's largest city, even as residents consider the city to be on an upswing.

"The whole country is going to be like, you want to know the truth? It'll be like Detroit. Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she's your president. You're going to have a mess on your hands," he said.

Unlike Colorado and California, Michigan is an important swing state.

These comments echoed ones he made before the Republican National Convention, calling Milwaukee a "horrible city," even though Wisconsin is also an important swing state.

The counties where Detroit and Milwaukee are located voted for President Joe Biden by more than 35 percentage points in 2020.

Contributing: Molly Beck, Lawrence Andrea, Todd Spangler, Clara Hendrickson, Tom Coulter, Paul Albani-Burgio, Karissa Waddick, Terry Collins, USA TODAY Network

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump goes into 'belly of the beast' in blue state visits, expert says