GOPer Who Vowed To Stand Up To Trump Flees Constituents At Community Event

UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 30: Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., leaves the House Republican Conference meeting in the Capitol on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
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Colorado congressman Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), who vowed to “stand up” to President-elect Donald Trump, left his own community event early on Saturday after a crowd of constituents showed up with questions.

Coffman was scheduled to meet with constituents at the Aurora Central Library on Saturday. A crowd of attendees, some with questions about Republican promises to repeal Obamacare, were left to wait in the lobby, according to a report by local station KUSA.

According to KUSA’s report, police officers used crime scene tape to create a perimeter while the crowd waited outside the community room.

The event was scheduled to run from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, but according to the report Coffman left “secretly” six minutes early, at 3:24 p.m.

In a statement obtained by KUSA, Coffman’s chief of staff Ben Stein wrote that “the volume of people who came” prevented Coffman from meeting with all the attendees.

“The Congressman met with four people at a time for five minutes each for a total of more than 70 constituents,” Stein wrote. “Unfortunately, we only reserved the room at the Aurora Central Library for 90 minutes, which is usually plenty of time to see everyone. For those who were unable to see the Congressman today we apologize.”

In a campaign ad released in August, Coffman distanced himself from Trump, saying that he doesn’t “care for him much” and vowing to “stand up” to Trump if the then-candidate won the presidency.

In November, barely a week after the election, Coffman left the first full House Republican conference meeting saying that he was “excited” to work with Trump.

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