Governor Polis Comments On Trump Deal

This one’s got a lot of folks scratching their heads. Colorado Governor Jared Polis just came out against a massive energy trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union — a deal that would require the EU to purchase a staggering $750 billion in American energy products.

Let that sink in. Three-quarters of a trillion dollars in demand for U.S. energy, and Polis, whose state happens to be one of the top energy producers in the country, decided to take a pass.

It’s baffling on its face. Colorado ranks fourth in the nation for oil production and sits in the top ten for total energy output. Weld County alone is an energy juggernaut, pumping out 82% of the state’s crude oil and over half of its natural gas.

This deal would have meant billions in new demand for those products, translating to more jobs, more economic growth, and more prosperity for working families across the state. You’d think a governor — especially one who claims to champion Colorado’s economy — would be out front waving the flag for this.

But instead, Polis used an MSNBC interview following the National Governors Association Summer Meeting to oppose it. Why? Well, that’s the part no one can quite figure out. The agreement has bipartisan appeal on its face.

Even EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has acknowledged the geopolitical benefits of shifting Europe away from Russian gas and toward American energy — a move that strengthens our alliances and undercuts Moscow.

So what’s Polis’s hang-up? Critics say it’s pretty simple: politics. One Colorado strategist didn’t mince words, arguing Polis is “a hater about anything involving Trump, even if it’s something that helps our state’s energy production and working Colorado families.”

And that may be the heart of it — this deal has been tied to Trump-era policy initiatives, and in today’s political climate, that’s enough for some Democrats to walk away, no matter the upside.

But here’s the thing: voters notice this stuff. Energy-producing communities in Colorado — blue-collar workers who rely on oil and gas — see their governor choosing politics over paychecks. And in an era when Democrats are already losing ground in what used to be deep-blue strongholds, moves like this aren’t just puzzling. They’re self-sabotaging.