Donald is feigning ignorance so as to avoid his own guilt; a sort of defense mechanism, I'd say. By saying that the White House pardoned Arpaio during the storm so as to increase the amount of attention on the story, he is trying to sell the idea that he was trying to be transparent. But the notion that that would work ridiculous; national catastrophes cover up lesser stories like Arpaio's pardoning. It is very unlikely that Trump's advisors would have released the statement during the Hurricane if they wanted more Americans to be informed about the decision. In all likelihood, they announced Arpaio's pardoning so as to do the very opposite; keep it quiet and try to decrease controversy from the media. By telling himself that his intention was pure, Donald is stabilizing his fragile ego from the accusations from the media. As a consequence, he further loses credibility amongst Americans. He probably should just shut up.

For the good of the United States, Donald Trump needs to forward the policies he spoke about during his campaign that are not completely polarizing. But his commitments to his base are creating these stupid policies, like Muslim and transgender bans from the military. They're a waste of time and don't do much for the majority of Americans, and give the media ample opportunity to paint him as a villain. He needs to focus on healthcare (pharmaceuticals, lowering Obamacare mandates), trade deals, and border security, like he said he would in his campaign. Those are things that constitutional conservatives can get behind and would open the stage for center-right rhetoric.