President Donald Trump ditched the TelePrompTer during a wide-ranging campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona Tuesday night, and set Twitter ablaze with hot takes.
The president began by relitigating his controversial remarks on Charlottesville—conveniently leaving out his comments about violence on “many sides”—weaved together with a lengthy tirade on the “fake” news media.
At one point, Trump called out to Gen. John Kelly, his newly appointed chief of staff, to come to the stage and greet the crowd. Kelly, needless to say, did not appear.
Trump also raised the possibility of pardoning controversial former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "I won't do it tonight because I don't want to cause any controversy," he said. "But Sheriff Joe can feel good."
The White House had said earlier Tuesday that there would “be no discussion” of the pardon and that “no action will be taken on that front at any point today."