January 27, 2026 09:58 AM UTC

Lauren Boebert More Willing To Criticize Trump Than Gabe Evans

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• by: Colorado Pols

Colorado Public Radio’s Caitlyn Kim rounded up some off our state’s members of Congress to ask their opinion of the Trump administration’s now year-long campaign of retaliation against Colorado for a range of misdeeds, most often cited the continuing incarceration of convicted election conspiracy theorist and former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters–and although Democrats were united in squarely blaming Trump for these adverse decisions, Republicans who responded were in full excuse mode:

Republican Rep. Gabe Evans, who represents a swing seat, sees it in a policy light.

“We are working with the administration to make sure that we’re fixing all of the dumb stuff that Democrats have done to Colorado,” he told CPR News. He blames Democrats in Colorado and in Washington.

Some examples he points out are taxes on tips or energy dominance. The Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill (now referred to as the Working Families Tax Cut) instituted no federal tax on tips through 2028, but the state has an income tax on tips. When pressed on whether it’s retaliation or punishment, Evans added. “I think that this is a policy conversation. You have to ask specifically about the policies in question.”

To suggest that Colorado continuing to tax tipped income after the federal government temporarily suspended that tax in the “We’re All Going To Die Act” budget bill is what brought Trump’s wrath down upon the state is nonsense, since Trump’s retaliation against Colorado over Tina Peters predates the passage of the Republican budget bill. It’s frustrating that no follow-up questions about Trump’s own repeated threats against the state over Tina Peters were asked here.

But it’s another moment to note for the record that America’s Most Vulnerable Incumbent™ has positioned himself closer to Trump than even fellow Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, who represents a vastly safer Republican district, yet has demonstrated a willingness to challenge the Trump administration on issues ranging from the Epstein files (at least for awhile) to Trump’s vengeful veto of funding to complete the Arkansas Valley Conduit project in Boebert’s current district. Boebert stayed on message for this CPR story, but her previous dissent is a matter of record.

Evans’ canine loyality to Trump in this highly competitive district has never made political sense, and as Trump’s approval rating slides toward the abyss it’s likely already too late for Evans to make a break for it now. And for whatever reason be it blind faith or hubris, we don’t think Evans wants to show independence from the MAGA brand that brought him to prominence.

In the choice between Colorado and Trump, and even between Evans’ own career and Trump, Gabe Evans chooses Trump.