U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper held a town hall Monday evening at Asteria Theatre, fielding questions and some criticisms from the largely full venue.
The Colorado Democrat began the town hall by praising the new Colorado Mesa University venue, stating he felt like he should be singing as he looked out at the crowd. He then encouraged attendees, and Americans at large, to remain politically engaged and to be kind to their neighbors “to find real solutions to our problems.”
He also called the 2024 election “a wake-up call.” He then began fielding audience questions about a variety of topics.
Larry Robinson / The Daily Sentinel
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper gives his opening statement during a packed town hall at Colorado Mesa University’s Asteria Theatre in Grand Junction on April 14, 2025.
One woman asked Hickenlooper about the SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship to vote. She expressed concern that the bill could prevent married women from voting because of their name change.
Hickenlooper said that white male landowners were the original voting body of the country, which would make SAVE Act “a huge step backwards.” Hickenlooper believes the bill won’t get anywhere and said he talked to Republican politicians who believed the legislation would be “a black eye for the nation.”
Hickenlooper then fielded a question from an employee of a Mesa County Valley School District 51 school whose role is funded by Title I, the federal program supporting schools where many students face poverty. This woman expressed concern that her job could be lost if the Trump administration eliminates or severely weakens the Department of Education.
Most every seat was filled at Colorado Mesa University’s Asteria Theatre for Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper public town hall on April 14, 2035.
Hickenlooper responded that Trump is not legally allowed to eliminate the department without congressional approval but said Trump aims to “debilitate” the department. He believes there would be “uprisings all across the country” if the department was eliminated and he finds it more likely that the department is absorbed into the Treasury Department.
One woman asked why Hickenlooper had approved 10 Trump appointments such as Energy Secretary Chris Wright or Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. Hickenlooper called this a fair question, saying “I believe in symbolism and it matters.”
Hickenlooper had positive remarks about Wright, a Colorado native who Hickenlooper called “intelligent.” He justified his approval of Burgum by responding, “You should have seen some of the other people they were talking about!”
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper speaks to members of the public after a public town hall at Colorado Mesa University’s Asteria Theatre in Grand Junction on April 14, 2025.
“In a funny way, we’re at war,” Hickenlooper said. “You’ve got to be pragmatic as well as ruthless.”
When asked about the Israel-Palestine conflict and if he would consider voting against continuing to provide weapons to Israel, Hickenlooper spoke about being in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) in October 2023 and seeing footage of Hamas’ actions.
“Nothing I’ve seen in a movie comes close,” Hickenlooper said. “Israel has to have a right to defend itself.”
He said that doesn’t mean Israel should have the right to kill civilians and clear blocks to “force a population off their land.” He hopes that the end of an “endless march” toward a two-state solution is near.
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper answers questions from the public during a packed town hall at Colorado Mesa University’s Asteria Theatre in Grand Junction on April 14, 2025.
He noted that the U.S. sells weapons globally to “everybody all at once”, muddying the country’s moral role in international conflict. One man in the crowd yelled in response, “That’s not a satisfying answer!”
Other questions related to Democrats’ response to Trump, his support of legislation championed by Republicans regarding forests and mining, and the need for more youth leadership in politics.
More people had questions to ask when the town hall was wrapping up, with one woman who had raised her hand throughout the evening expressing her frustration that Washington politicians are too hard to reach and that they lack the perspective of their constituents.
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper answers questions from the public during a packed town hall at Colorado Mesa University’s Asteria Theatre in Grand Junction on April 14, 2025.
COMMENTS TO MEDIA
Ahead of the town hall, Hickenlooper met with local media, including The Daily Sentinel.
The senator was asked about the mistaken deportation of Maryland’s Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador despite in the U.S. legally. The Supreme Court has asked the Trump administration to bring Garcia home, but in a meeting with El Salvador’s president Monday, Trump not only didn’t push for Garcia’s return but also floated the idea of sending more Americans to foreign prisons.
Most every seat was filled at Colorado Mesa University’s Asteria Theatre for Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper public town hall on April 14, 2035.
“I think that is the single most egregious act I’ve seen our government condone that I can remember. The fact you can take someone who is admittedly innocent, not the person they thought, and they put them in a prison that’s acknowledged to be a hell hole where people barely survive, we can’t get him out, and now the president has some chummy deal with the president of El Salvador and who knows how much he’s getting paid to build these super-prisons and now he’s going to build more super-prisons? This is a level of corruption that I don’t think any American expected when they voted for Donald Trump,” Hickenlooper said.
“You see ICE officials going around and collecting people with hoods over their faces. That’s what they did in Nazi Germany when they collected Jews. That’s not acceptable. I think Congress will unite on this, I think the courts will unite on this and say, ‘No, if you’re not going to bring this person back, you can’t use that law for anybody.’ The big question is, if President Trump and the White House choose not to obey the courts, then we really have to go to the streets. If the courts won’t do their part, we begin to lose our democracy.”
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper answers questions from the public during a packed town hall at Colorado Mesa University’s Asteria Theatre in Grand Junction on April 14, 2025.
Hickenlooper was also asked about tariffs, a topic that would later come up during the town hall. Trump last week issued a 90-day pause on most tariffs, though he raised tariffs on China.
“I call it the tariff tax because it is. You put up big tariffs and the price goes up for everybody and maybe people buy less of it, which just weakens the economy. A 90-day pause can seem like, ‘Oh, he capitulated, he’s rethinking.’ If you’re a business, big or small, you’re constantly thinking, ‘When do I invest my capital?’ That’s what makes growth. You invest your capital, you hire more people, the economy grows. If you don’t know how tariffs are going to look in 90 days, you’re not investing anything,” Hickenlooper said.
Claire Ninde asks a question to Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper about him voting in favor of President Trump’s nominees during a packed town hall at Colorado Mesa University’s Asteria Theatre in Grand Junction on April 14, 2025.
“He just put a chokehold on our growth. Goldman Sachs is now estimating, even after the pause, that the best-case is that our growth this year is going from 2.5-3% to 0.5%. We’ve just lost at least 2% of growth. When you look at what that means for jobs and people having money at the end of the month to pay their rent, that affects everyone.”
Hickenlooper believes that Republicans and independents will show up to rallies and protests “pissed off” when tariffs impact their bottom lines.
