Sen. Martha McSally Avoids Saying She Supports Trump During Debate

You’d think a simple question would get a simple response, but not if the question involves President Donald Trump.

That’s what happened Tuesday night during the debate between Republican Sen. Martha McSally and her Democratic challenger Mark Kelly in Arizona.

McSally, who was appointed to her Senate seat in 2018, was asked point-blank if she was proud of the way she has supported him.

She wouldn’t answer the question directly.

“I’m proud to be fighting for Arizona every single day,” she said evasively.

“Is that a yes or no?” the moderator asked, while McSally talked over him about “putting legislation on President Trump’s desk.”

“So you’re proud of your support,” the moderator reiterated.

“You look at the legislation we put on his desk and it’s to cut Arizona taxes,” she continued.

“It sounds like she is proud of her support for President Trump,” the moderator theorized.

“I’m proud to be fighting for Arizonans here,” she said.

McSally did attempt to separate herself from Trump when it came to John McCain.

McSally was appointed to McCain’s Senate seat after his death and has praised his service to his country. However, she has rarely publicly rebuked the president’s rude comments toward the deceased Arizona senator.

At Tuesday’s debate, she claimed that she has criticized the president’s treatment of McCain to his face.

“I publicly and privately repeatedly talked to President Trump and asked him to stop attacking John McCain,” McSally said. “Quite frankly, it pisses me of when he does it.”

Because the Arizona Senate race is a special election meant to fill McCain’s Senate seat, the winner of the race will be inducted into office by Nov. 30.

RealClearPolitics shows that Kelly has a 6.6 percentage point edge on McSally.