Senate hopeful Arpaio short on details

Former sheriff focused on loyalty to President Trump who gave him a pardon

PHOENIX — U.S. Senate candidate Joe Arpaio has repeatedly pledged his unwavering support for President Donald Trump, but the divisive retired sheriff is unwilling or unable to elaborate on the president’s policies.

Arpaio declined at a news conference Tuesday to say whether withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal would make Americans less or more safe.

Instead, he focused on his loyalty to Trump, who nine months ago pardoned Arpaio’s criminal contemptof-court conviction for intentionally disobeying a judge’s order in an immigration case.

The 85-year-old lawman, who lost his 2016 re-election campaign to a little-known Phoenix police sergeant as his legal problems mounted, spoke to reporters Tuesday before handing in petition signatures needed to compete in the Aug. 28 Republican primary in the race to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake.

Arpaio faces U.S. Rep. Martha McSally and former state Sen. Kelli Ward in the GOP field.

In his 24 years as metro Phoenix’s sheriff, Arpaio wasn’t known for immersing himself in the policies and inner workings of his office and often prided himself on farming out those details to his underlings.

Now, Arpaio is facing tough questions about the details of his beliefs. Those questions led to tense exchanges between Arpaio and reporters shortly before he turned in the signatures.

Asked to say how the tariffs threatened by Trump would affect Arizona residents, Arpaio said only that he wants products to be made in the United States and doesn’t believe the approach to tariffs would hurt the state.

He also was asked whether he knew what a tariff was.

“I know what tariffs are, but I’m not here to do a history — to educate you on what a tariff is,” Arpaio said.

Similarly, he declined to say whether the Iran nuclear deal would make the United States safer.

“I don’t have all the foreign information,” Arpaio said.