People are outraged Trump hid behind a hurricane to pardon Joe Arpaio

Sasha Lekach
Updated

With a Category 4 hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast, Donald Trump decided it was the right time to pardon Joe Arpaio.

The former sheriff of Arizona's Maricopa County was found guilty of criminal contempt for ignoring court orders to stop racially profiling drivers. (The ACLU has a good summary of why people are so critical of Arpaio.) 

SEE ALSO: Trump blasts the media for not praising him when he was nice to Nazis

Trump strongly hinted that the pardon was coming earlier this week at a rally in Phoenix. Turns out he did it Friday — hours, according to CBS News, before he decided whether he would sign a disaster declaration for the states in the path of what could be the strongest storm to hit the U.S. since 2005. 

The timing — of both the pardon and Trump's decision Friday to sign a directive banning transgender people from the military — didn't go unnoticed. 

Not a good look for Trump as he handles the first major natural disaster of his presidency. 

WATCH: Hurricane Harvey is intensifying in the Gulf of Mexico

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