Skip to main content
Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Trump defends decision to pardon former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio

n this Jan. 26, 2016 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of metro Phoenix, at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa. Fresh off his presidential pardon, an emboldened Joe Arpaio on Monday lashed out at his critics and the judge who found him guilty of a crime as his attorneys went to court to throw the court decision that was the basis for his conviction. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
n this Jan. 26, 2016 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of metro Phoenix, at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa. Fresh off his presidential pardon, an emboldened Joe Arpaio on Monday lashed out at his critics and the judge who found him guilty of a crime as his attorneys went to court to throw the court decision that was the basis for his conviction. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) n this Jan. 26, 2016 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of metro Phoenix, at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa. Fresh off his presidential pardon, an emboldened Joe Arpaio on Monday lashed out at his critics and the judge who found him guilty of a crime as his attorneys went to court to throw the court decision that was the basis for his conviction. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

By Associated Press 3 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Monday defended his decision to pardon Joe Arpaio, calling the former Arizona sheriff a “patriot” who loves his country.

Asked about his controversial pardon during a joint press conference with the president of Finland on Monday, Trump insisted that “a lot of people” believe he made the right call. He said Arpaio had done a “great job for the people of Arizona” and argued that he’d been treated “unbelievable unfairly” by the Obama administration.

“He’s done a great job for the people of Arizona. He is very strong on borders, very strong on illegal immigration. He is loved in Arizona,” Trump said.

Trump’s decision drew criticism from both sides of the aisle, and renewed allegations that he has little respect for an independent judiciary.

Arpaio shot to national fame by aggressively targeting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally using tactics that Latino and immigrants’ rights advocates likened to racial profiling. He faced a possible jail sentence on a federal conviction stemming from his refusal to halt certain immigration patrols.