Phoenix Mayor Asks Trump to Postpone Rally in His City in Light of Charlottesville

Donald Trump is not the most compassionate man in the country. We know this and don’t need to explain to you why it’s true. Still, one man—the mayor of Phoenix, to be specific—is hoping that Trump can find it in his Grinch-sized heart to not hold a rally in his city, just days after Charlottesville’s clash between good people and neo-Nazis.

Mayor Greg Stanton wrote in an open letter on his Twitter, “I am disappointed that President Trump has chosen to hold a campaign rally as our nation is still healing from the tragic events in Charlottesville. If President Trump is coming to Phoenix to announce a pardon for former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, then it will be clear that his true intent is to enflame emotions and further divide our nation.”

For those unfamiliar with Joe Arpaio, he’s like if Trump was a little bit more evil and had an affinity for torture. According to a ProPublica reporter who used to work for a local Phoenix paper, Arpaio kept prisoners in “an outdoor tent city so hot that the inmates’ shoes melted.” His duties as sheriff also included arresting people for speaking Spanish because of the possibility of them being undocumented, ignoring cases of sexual assault and leading a volunteer group dubbed the “Cold Case Posse” to investigate Barack Obama’s birth certificate. Trump is totally going to Phoenix to pardon him because, at this point, why would he not cater to the wishes of white nationalists?

Mayor Stanton hopes that “more sound judgment prevails and that he delays his visit,” and we commend him for hoping. Unfortunately, Trump will likely continue with business as usual, like a spray-tanned bulldozer with no brakes and no regard for others.

You can read Stanton’s full statement below.

My statement on Trump’s August 22 event at the @PhoenixConvCtr. pic.twitter.com/nPYIHX5eVg

— Greg Stanton (@MayorStanton) August 16, 2017