Bernie Sanders today walked right out of an on-camera interview over a question about his wife and Arizona’s most vocal racist, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.



The actual question isn’t contained in the 12 News report about Sanders’ abrupt dismissal, but it’s clear the reporter, Brahm Resnick, asked something about the surprise meeting Sanders’ wife Jane had earlier this week with Arpaio at Arpaio’s much-maligned Tent City.

“What Joe Arpaio is doing is an outrage,” Sanders said in response. “My wife went to look at the so-called tent city, which is something that should not exist,” he added, referencing a jail operated by the Maricopa County sheriff that is fashioned from military tents. The fact that he crashed her meeting is, to me, very, very wrong, not something he should have done. Thank you very much.”

Then he walked out.

Although Sanders camp now says he left because the interview went over its allotted four-minute time slot—a more presidential response, to be sure—but his rapid response director, Mike Casca, also tweeted that Sanders ended the interview “after a reporter goes after his wife.”

(Casca later tweeted he was mistaken.)

correction: this previous tweet is inaccurate. the interview was over time. i tweeted without full context, which is always a bad idea. — mike casca (@cascamike) March 18, 2016

And if you’re thinking it sounds like something is missing in this story, it is: The reporter’s actual question. The station has so far declined to air it—a fairly important detail to leave out.