President Trump is ?? ??? ?? ??setting the record straight on why he felt the need to pardon Joe Arpaio in the middle of a hurricane.

On Monday afternoon during a joint press conference with President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, Trump addressed the timing of his controversial decision to pardon the former sheriff of Arizona's Maricopa County. Arpaio was found guilty of contempt for ignoring an order to stop racial profiling.

Trump said in the press conference that he assumed that on a Friday night while a hurricane was approaching the U.S. that "the ratings would be far higher."

Oh.

When asked why he chose to pardon Arpaio during the early hours of Hurricane Harvey and what he has to say to his critics, Trump replied, "A lot of people think it was the right thing to do."

He went on to explain that on a Friday night in the middle of a hurricane, he thought the ratings would be far higher than they would be normally.

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Naturally, people took this well...

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As Harvey caused an unprecedented amount rain and flooding in Houston, Trump reportedly chose to pardon Arpaio before even signing a major disaster declaration for the state of Texas.

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But it's okay, I suppose — right? Because he had to catch the ratings at their peak...