Pence Praises Joe Arpaio As 'Tireless Champion Of The Rule Of Law'

By Ed Scarce — May 2, 2018

Morning Joe among many others in the media were quick to register their disgust at Mike Pence for praising convicted criminal Joe Arpaio at a rally last night in Tempe. Arpaio is currently running for the open U.S. Senate in Arizona.

Source: The Week

At an event Tuesday afternoon in Tempe, Arizona, hosted by America First Policies, a group led by controversial former Trump administration official Carl Higbie that promotes President Trump's agenda, Vice President Mike Pence had a special shout-out for a "favorite" member of the audience. "A great friend of this president, a tireless champion of strong borders and the rule of law," Pence said, "Sheriff Joe Arpaio, I'm honored to have you here."

A federal judge ruled Arpaio in criminal contempt of court last year, after Arpaio had already lost his bid for re-election as Maricopa County sheriff, and she refused to vacate his conviction even after President Trump controversially pardoned him.

A conservative columnist had this take.

Arpaio is a moral stain that America should be desperately trying to make right. This is sick. https://t.co/G5GtslC7Cl https://t.co/sehOTXnFs0

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) May 2, 2018

Liberal Paul Krugman had a different take.

Why are people surprised that Mike Pence praised Sheriff Joe as a champion of the "rule of law"? For a large segment of the population, "law and order" has always meant "keeping people of color down" -- full stop https://t.co/Fni2YX2NVP

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) May 2, 2018

One of Politico's writers had this to say.

This is embarrassing for Pence.

Arpaio is reviled in Arizona’s law enforcement community because he did *not* champion the rule of law. https://t.co/Tq4yI0jhE7

— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) May 1, 2018

Scarborough made his views known last night on twitter.

Mike Pence is “honored” to have Joe Arpaio at his event? And he calls a bigoted criminal who tortured inmates a “strong champion of the rule of law”? Even Arizona Republicans know this man undermines the most basic of American values. https://t.co/RwcQtKk86S

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 2, 2018

"I'm honored to have you here."

Vice President Mike Pence recognizes ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio during a tax policy event in Arizona, calling Arpaio a "tireless champion of strong borders and the rule of law." pic.twitter.com/tzmS3sKPnN

— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 1, 2018

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.