WATCH/READ: Sheriff Joe Arpaio Speech At Republican National Convention - "My Most Important Mission Has Just Begun"

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio delivered a semi-primetime speech tonight at the last night of the Republican National Convention. He called helping get Presidential nominee Donald Trump elected "my most important mission," and praised Trump for spending five minutes on the phone chatting with wife Ava for five minutes after she was diagnosed with cancer.

Arpaio's 5 1/2 minute speech focused on border enforcement, starting just before the primetime programming (back East) began, and ending just afterwards.

Closed captioning transcript (very rough)> THANK YOU. THANK YOU, ARIZONA. CHAIRMAN ROBERT GRAHAM, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. [CHEERING] I HAVE SPENT 55 YEARS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, 55 YEARS AND HAVE ALWAYS REGARDED MY WORK, THE MISSION IS CRITICAL, BUT MY MOST IMPORTANT MISSION HAS JUST BEGUN, TO HELP ELECT DONALD TRUMP. [CHEERING] PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. [CHEERING] THE STAKES ARE HIGH. WE NEED A STRONG LEADER WHO WILL STAND UP FOR AMERICA AND PUT THE INTEREST OF HER CITIZENS FIRST. UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE LOSING THE BATTLE. WE'RE THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WHOSE IMMIGRATION SYSTEM PUTS THE NEEDS OF OTHER NATIONS AHEAD OF OURS. WE ARE MORE CONCERNED WITH THE RIGHTS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS AND CRIMINALS FAMILY ARE WITH REJECTING OUR OWN COUNTRY. [CHEERING] -- PROTECTING OUR OWN COUNTRY. THAT MUST CHANGE. WE NEED A LEADER WHO WILL PROTECT OUR BORDERS AND ENFORCE OUR LAWS BECAUSE A NATION WITHOUT BORDERS AND A NATION WITHOUT LAWS IS NO NATION AT ALL. [CHEERING] AND NOW, MORE THAN EVER, WE MUST RESPECT THE POLICE. [CHEERING] WE MUST GIVE THEM THE TOOLS AND THE SUPPORT THEY NEED TO DO THEIR JOBS. THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT MUST HAVE OUR BACKS AS THEY RISK THEIR LIVES EVERYTHING OK TO PERFORM THEIR JOBS AND PROTECT OUR CITIZENS. AS SOMEONE WHO FOR 35 YEARS HAS BEEN A TOP ONE FOURTH THE OFFICIAL LIVING AND WORKING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER, I CAN TELL YOU FIRSTHAND ABOUT THE DANGERS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AND DRUGS. WE HAVE TERRORISTS COMING OVER OUR BORDERS. INFILTRATING OUR COMMUNITIES AND CAUSING MASSIVE DESTRUCTION AND MAYHEM. WE HAVE CRIMINALS AND DETERGENT OR WEAK BORDER -- PENETRATING OUR WEAK BORDER SYSTEM AND COMMITTING CRIMES. I'M SUPPORTING DONALD TRUMP BECAUSE HE IS A LEADER. [CHEERING] HE PRODUCES RESULTS. HE IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT READY TO GET TOUGH IN ORDER TO PROTECT AMERICANS. [CHEERING] I HAVE THOUGHTS ON THE FRONT LINES TO PREVENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AND I KNOW DONALD TRUMP WILL STAND WITH ME AND OTHER PROUD AMERICANS TO SECURE OUR BORDERS. [CHEERING] DONALD TRUMP WILL BUILD A WALL. [CHEERING] AND RESTORE LAW AND ORDER AND KEEP DRUGS AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM ENTERING INTO OUR COUNTRY. [CHEERING] I WILL NEVER FORGET DONALD TRUMP AND WHAT HE DID FOR MY WIFE. I'VE BEEN MARRIED TO EVA FOR 59 YEARS. [CHEERING] AND DURING THE CAMPAIGN, SHE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER. JUST BEFORE GOING ON NATIONAL TV, DONALD TRUMP CALLED MY WIFE AND TALK TO HER FOR FIVE MINUTES. SUBSEQUENT TRIPS, HE NEVER FORGOT TO THINK OF MY WIFE. AND CALL HER. HE DID NOT HAVE TO GET MY SUPPORT THROUGH HIS KINDNESS TO MY WIFE BECAUSE I WAS ALREADY HOOKED. [CHEERING] LET'S ELECT A LEADER WHO WILL STAND UP FOR AMERICA. [CHEERING] AND PROTECT OUR BORDERS. SUPPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT. [CHEERING] AND THE MILITARY! [CHEERING] AND IN DOING SO, UNITE OUR COUNTRY. [CHEERING] LET'S ELECT DONALD TRUMP! [CHEERING] THANK YOU. [CHEERING]
We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.