Gov. Doug Ducey: I approve of border wall ‘as long as it benefits Arizona’

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said he supports President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to build a wall on the Arizona-Mexico border, as long as it does not tarnish the state’s business relationship with Mexico.

Ducey said in an interview with Mac and Gaydos on Tuesday that he wants to do everything he can to make the Trump administration successful in its efforts to secure the border “as long as it benefits Arizona.”

“I like the idea of border security,” Ducey said. He added that drug and human smuggling over the border are “real problems” and that he would rather border security be on “offense rather than defense.”

“Let’s put border agents on the border for a lot better security,” Ducey said.

In his interview with Mac and Gaydos, Ducey also touched on the issue of police-community relations, saying state officials have gone to great lengths to find leaders who are in touch with their community.

“Public safety, for me, is incredibly important in Arizona,” Ducey said, adding that new Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone, incoming Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams and the director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety Frank Milstead will “build trust and relationships” with their community.

“I don’t sense a divide between cops and people,” Ducey said. “In Arizona, we have great cops and great chiefs and great leadership. That didn’t happen on accident.”