Former President Donald Trump got a surprise while rallying in Tempe, Arizona, on Thursday: former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
“Thank you very much for being here,” Trump said as the crowd cheered. “That’s very nice. I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
Arpaio was one of Trump’s earliest and most ardent supporters because the two men share similar hardline views on immigration and border security. Trump on Thursday praised the former sheriff, who was convicted in 2017 of contempt of court, as “one of the greats of all time.”
Arpaio was convicted for refusing to follow a judge’s order in a racial profiling case, and Trump pardoned Arpaio two months after his conviction.
Alex Brandon/AP
“He didn’t play games at the border,” Trump said as the crowd cheered on Thursday. “Sheriff Joe…he didn’t play games.”
“Stand up,” Trump said to Arpaio, who was in the crowd. “One of the greats of all time.”
The former president also said Arpaio “got the job done,” and that he “did it fairly.”
Arpaio was the first person to get a pardon during Trump’s presidency, and Trump defended his controversial decision by pointing to Arpaio’s age and career.
“Sheriff Joe Arpaio is now 85 years old, and after more than 50 years of admirable service to our nation, he is (a) worthy candidate for a Presidential pardon,” the White House said in a statement at the time.
Trump also bucked tradition by pardoning Arpaio without consulting the Justice Department, as presidents typically do with executive clemency grants.
Arpaio thanked Trump at the time by echoing some of the former president’s own rhetoric on being the target of political persecution.
“Thank you @realdonaldtrump for seeing my conviction for what it is: a political witch hunt by holdovers in the Obama justice department!” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Civil rights and human rights groups widely condemned Arpaio’s pardon; the American Civil Liberties Union said Trump “has chosen lawlessness over justice,” and the American Bar Association said it undermined faith in the US legal system.
Members of Trump’s own party criticized the move, including both Republican Arizona senators at the time, Jeff Flake and John McCain.
Then House Speaker Paul Ryan also spoke out against Trump’s decision, saying in a statement that “law-enforcement officials have a special responsibility to respect the rights of everyone in the United States. We should not allow anyone to believe that responsibility is diminished by this pardon.”
