Defiant Bernie Sanders Slams ‘America’s Toughest Sheriff,’ Calls On Washington Redskins To Change Their Name

Despite multiple proclamations by political pundits that the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders met its demise in the wake of the “Super Tuesday 3” primaries, the candidate himself shows little signs of giving up his share of the limelight. Indeed, Sanders appeared emboldened at a recent campaign event in Arizona, publicly picking fights with some new and polarizing foils.

Addressing an estimated 2,800 supporters at the Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort, Bernie Sanders called out the man known as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Sanders accused Arpaio of being “un-American” with respect to his tough stance on illegal immigration. The Vermont Senator also chided Sheriff Arpaio for his behavior during a recent interaction with Sanders’ wife Jane.

“It’s easy for bullies like Sheriff Arpaio to pick on people who have no power, but if I’m elected president, the president of the United States does have the power,” Sanders said in comments transcribed by the New York Times. “Watch out, Joe!” Sanders added.

Joe Arpaio, who is perhaps best known for housing inmates in “tent cities” where inmates are subjected to the harshest elements of the American Southwest, endorsed Donald Trump for president in late January, as reported by The Washington Post. At a campaign event on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, Arpaio referred to Trump as “a great patriot.”

“Everything I believe in he’s doing and he’s going to do it when he becomes president,” Arpaio has said of the real estate mogul. “It is my privilege and honor to help him,” he added before formally pronouncing his endorsement.

Both Donald Trump and Joe Arpaio are controversial figures when it comes to the matters of racism and immigration. Trump kicked off his run for president by calling for a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico, later turning his attention to Muslims with the use of rhetoric that has evoked comparisons to the Holocaust. Joe Arpaio has been accused of racial profiling, particularly in his effort to round up undocumented immigrants in his jurisdiction. Both Trump and Arpaio are also considered national leaders of the so-called “Birther” movement, which challenged President Barack Obama’s status as a natural-born American citizen.

In addition to his choice words for Joe Arpaio during his Thursday appearance, Bernie Sanders also spoke at length on the problems of Native Americans, telling his audience that improving their living conditions would be a top priority in a Sanders Administration. The Democratic contender also touched upon the ongoing controversy surrounding the name of one of America’s oldest professional football teams, the Washington Redskins.

“Washington has a very good football team but it doesn’t have to be called the Redskins,” Sanders said according to The Washington Post.

The team’s name is widely viewed as offensive to Native Americans, although team ownership and stalwart fans have resisted any changes to the moniker.

But while Bernie Sanders is still feeling his political mojo out on the campaign trail, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is urging her rival to withdraw from the race. In a report by the Washington Times, Clinton’s campaign director Robby Mook maintained that Sanders does not have a “virtually realistic path” to the Democratic nomination at this point. For his part, Bernie Sanders has rejected any talk that he will bow out prior to his party’s convention, saying that it would be “outrageously undemocratic” if he accepted defeat at this juncture.

[Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images]