Sheriff Arpaio, my admiration for you is so great that it is only with great difficulty that I would publicly differ with you about anything. We also share war wounds from our time together in Arizona trying to crack down on corruption within the judiciary and county supervisors’ office. So it’s only from a great sense of urgency that I would publicly break with you, but I feel the imperative now. You have endorsed Donald Trump, citing his tough stance on border security and illegal immigration. And he indeed has talked a good talk, and may actually build a wall if elected president. But there are three important considerations.

1. Trump is already walking back his tough immigration stance. And no wall alone can solve this complex problem. If Trump’s new-found “flexibility” finds him bending back to his roots as a liberal New York Democrat eager to make deals in Washington, what has been gained? If there was no one else in the race with a track record of standing firm against the Washington bureaucrats, lobbyists and special interests, that would be one thing. But on the issue of border security, Ted Cruz is at least as strong and likely stronger.

2. You and I have scars from being thrashed and trashed by the left-leaning judiciary. Because of the strong and successful stance against illegal immigration taken by you and former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas (who I worked for when we represented you as attorneys) the left has embroiled you in lawsuits for years, disbarred Thomas and suspended my law license. But Trump has contributed to liberals for decades, and as late as this campaign season singled out his left-leaning sister, a Senior United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Maryanne Trump Barry, as an excellent candidate for the Supreme Court. Barry is a left-leaning judge who was approved by former Democrat President Bill Clinton for the bench. No border wall can possibly withstand the onslaught of a solidly left-wing Supreme Court and increasingly left-leaning federal judiciary.

So why entrust future federal and Supreme Court picks to a man who has talked out of both sides of his mouth on the issue of judicial appointments, and who has a long and very recent track record of preferring liberals to conservatives? Especially when, again, there is at least one candidate in the race with unwavering and highly informed commitment to selecting and fighting for conservative judicial appointments. Even the moderate Republican left in the race, John Kasich, has a stronger track record in this area Trump does.

3. Let’s say Trump really is planning to fight unyieldingly for strong border security and to do the opposite of what he suggested when he went on about how great his sister would be as a Supreme Court Justice just last August. There is still a big problem: He is the least likely remaining GOP candidate to defeat Hillary in the fall. Yes, Trump talks a good talk here, saying he hasn’t even started to go after Hillary yet and how he’ll bring Reagan Democrats into the coalition. But the polling averages don’t lie, and in fact have been getting worse in recent weeks. The averages have consistently shown that Trump loses to Hillary, often badly, unlike the other two GOP candidates. Yes, Trump inspires some disaffected white male voters. But he will inspire many, many more who are terrified of his over-the-top statements to rush to the polls for the first time to vote against him.

And yes, Trump hasn’t started in on Hillary yet, but neither has the mainstream media or Hillary’s big money machine started in on him. And 30-40 percent of a fractured GOP primary vote won’t cut it for Trump in a general. In a general, attack ads that roll off Trump diehards like water off a duck’s back will prove far more effective to general election voters who don’t want a president who compliments China for its decisiveness in the Tiananmen Square massacre of pro-democracy protesters, who insults a popular conservative female media anchor with remarks about her monthly period, who flip-flops on one issue after another while styling himself a straight shooter, and who praises big government socialist programs like single-payer healthcare.

It may be too late to retract your endorsement. But it’s not too late to say something positive about the true blue, strong border conservative still in the race. And for those listening out there who love Sheriff Arpaio as much as I do, it’s not too late to honor what he’s fought for by taking a long hard look at the candidates still in the race and asking, which ones have a solid chance of making it all the way to the White House if nominated and which ones also represent — and will fight for — the conservative principles that made this country great, and can make it great again?