Arizona Senate candidate Kelli Ward has ripped the claim of her Republican primary opponent, former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who says former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
"You know, it's a controversy that doesn't need to be discussed . . . I believe that Barack Obama was born here, that he was our legitimate president," Ward said Thursday on CNN's "New Day."
In an interview Wednesday with Curtis Sliwa and Rita Cosby on WABC Radio, Arpaio said he is "not gonna back down" on the discredited claim Obama's birth certificate is a fake.
"I'm going to tell you again that that document is a forgery . . . I want to get it to Congress so they can pass some type of law, regulation, that when somebody runs for president, you oughta check their background, so this won't happen again," Arpaio said.
The self-styled "toughest lawman in America" was forced by courts to pay $146 million in settlements and fines for racial profiling and mishandling of prisoners. Arpaio was pardoned by President Trump after his conviction.
Both Arpaio and Ward are seeking the Senate seat held by retiring GOP Sen. Jeff Flake.
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