By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice
Eric Trump had no intention of returning to politics. After years on the front lines of the MAGA movement, he told his father he was done. Ten years of lawsuits, media smears and raising a young family had him ready to step back. Then Heidi Ganahl called.
“I told my father… I’m retiring from politics,” Trump said. “And then I got a call from Heidi. Damn it. Alright, fine. I’m back in.”
More than 400 conservatives packed the sold-out June 21 event in Golden—including 150 VIPs—united by a common belief that Colorado’s still worth fighting for.
The movement begins: Pizza Ranch and a tabletop speech
Trump opened with a story about 2016 that drew laughs. The MAGA movement didn’t begin with consultants or ad buys. It started in places like Iowa’s Pizza Ranch.
“You’re in Iowa, in a Pizza Ranch, you hop on a table to give a speech… and meanwhile I’m pulling a staffer aside asking, ‘Can you please explain what the hell a caucus is?’”
He paused to reflect on how the whole thing began.
“It wasn’t meant to be a family thing, but everything we’d ever done, we’d done together.”
He described the day his dad told them he was running for president.
“He goes, ‘Kids, I’m going to run for president. “When he said, ‘Let’s do this,’ it meant we were all in. That was our campaign—family, conviction and no backup plan.”
They didn’t come from politics. They came from business, media and hard-earned success.
“In 2016, we didn’t have a single endorsement,” he said. “We didn’t have any friends. It was either going to be my father alone or it was going to be my father, Don and I.”
What they did have, he said, was each other—and a deep sense of purpose.
“The family thing is what got us here. We were able to be sincere enough that we were able to talk from the heart. What we didn’t know, we figured out. What we lacked in polish, we did with conviction and love—love of a father, love of family, work ethic and a willingness to show up.”
That same spirit—the willingness to stand alone and build something anyway—now powers Rocky Mountain Voice and the growing conservative movement across Colorado.
Heidi’s response to silencing: the birth of Rocky Mountain Voice
After running for governor in 2022, Heidi Ganahl wasn’t willing to disappear quietly. She had watched conservative candidates get boxed out of the conversation. The media refused to report their messages fairly. And voters were left in the dark.
“None of our candidates can get their word out,” Ganahl said.
She found inspiration in Texas, where the Texas Scorecard had created an independent conservative media machine. And she asked the obvious question: why not here?
From that vision, Rocky Mountain Voice was born: a newsletter, a growing contributor network and a platform reaching hundreds of thousands.
“We’ve got 50 citizen journalists across Colorado. This isn’t just me and my daughter. This is a movement.”
Rooted in Colorado: Aspen memories and mountain resolve
Trump spoke about his own history in Colorado—and how much the state’s political shift confounds him.
“My mom was an alternate for the Czech Olympic team. She put us in Powder Pandas in Aspen.”
He grew up coming to Colorado, spending time around ranchers, farmers and families who lived out old-school conservative values.
“Colorado is the state that’s yearning to be red.”
VIP candor: loyalty, loss, and the friends worth keeping
In a private reception before the main event, Trump offered a more intimate look at the emotional cost of the movement.
He shared how some of his closest friends had vanished the moment he aligned publicly with the America First agenda.
“I’ve had best friends fall out of my life… I’d lose them all again for the people who’ve come into our lives.”
He also spoke about the staggering financial toll of standing his ground.
“We’ve spent four or five hundred million in legal fees just to prove we didn’t have secret servers in the basement.”
Despite all of it, he said, the mission hasn’t changed.
“I truly believe we can get Colorado back.”
The main event: fire, laughter and a full-volume crowd
On stage, Trump hit his stride. He took aim at the mail-in ballot system, the Biden administration, corporate media and the progressive agenda.
Trump didn’t hold back on the cultural battles either. He mocked the rise of biological males competing in women’s sports, calling it “freaking absurd,” and said no serious person believed any of it.
He blasted corporate cancel culture, debanking and the years he and his family spent banned from social media platforms.
“I was the most deplatformed person in the world… we were the tip of the spear in cancel culture.”
He said that tide is finally turning. “Woke is dead.”
He also pointed to signs that the conservative movement is not just holding ground—but gaining it.
“In California, there were thirteen counties that flipped red this last cycle. That’s crazy,” he said. “That’s why we’re winning. That’s why we’re changing hearts and minds.”
Trump credited the movement’s success to sticking with the basics. “What do we want? We want belief in the Constitution, belief in Christianity, freedom of speech and for the government to stay the hell out of our lives.”
Trump said the country needs to refocus on what matters most—and fast.
“Let’s focus on the greatest country in the world,” he said. “Let’s focus on our Constitution. Let’s focus on freedom of speech, freedom of religion. Let’s focus on the beautiful children and the next generation.”
Build your own stage: Trump’s praise for Ganahl and media independence
More than once, Trump turned back to Ganahl—not as a host, but as an example.
“You always tell a great person when they don’t need to be doing the job, but they do it anyway. That’s Heidi.”
Trump praised leaders who run toward the fight and don’t back down. He called Lauren Boebert one of them—someone who takes the heat and keeps going.
He said it’s people like that who are pushing the movement into the future. “One of those people is the person who brought me here today.”
Trump also framed RMV as part of a growing ecosystem of independent conservative voices.
“We’ve got kids on phones, doing podcasts from their basements, getting more views than CNN. And they want the truth.”
He said the mainstream media isn’t just corrupt—it’s dull. Meanwhile, fresh conservative voices are cutting through by speaking plainly and keeping it real.
“They want to be grainy. They want to be salty. And they want the truth.”
That’s why he sees citizen media—like RMV—as vital to the fight.
Marching orders: unrig it, unite, win
As the night closed, Trump gave the crowd their charge.
“It’s awfully hard to win a rigged system. So you need to unrig the system. That’s priority number one.”
He pointed out that Democrats win not because their ideas are better—but because they stick together.
“The thing that makes us the best is also what hurts us most. Republicans are entrepreneurial… Democrats vote in lockstep—even on insane policies.”
Trump insisted the movement is gaining ground—not just politically, but culturally. “We’re winning this fight on every front,” he said. But he warned that winning takes more than being right on the issues—it takes willpower.
Trump added that the country is at a tipping point—and must reclaim the mindset of a winner.
“You’ve got to have a coach who wants to win the Super Bowl,” he said. “China shouldn’t be beating us at anything. We’ve got the better people, the better system, the better ideas. We just have to get back to wanting it.” And Ganahl offered a final word of encouragement.
“You are the leader you’ve been waiting for to take back Colorado.”
While some view Colorado as a state firmly in Democrat hands, the Mountain Majesty Gala told a different story. The sold-out event drew hundreds of energized conservatives and signaled that the movement is still alive—and growing.
RMV, like the movement it celebrates, was built out of necessity—not access.