McSally praised by Trump at signing
Bill’s namesake McCain not mentioned at event
President Donald Trump praised Rep. Martha McSally Monday, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the hotly contested U.S. Senate seat in Arizona.
“I’ve gotten to know her very well, and she is terrific,” Trump said of McSally, after touting her resume as an Air Force veteran.
McSally was one of six congressional members at Fort Drum in upstate New York with Trump to witness his signing of the National Defense Authorization Act, this year named after ailing U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
McCain’s Capitol Hill colleagues named the Pentagon legislation in his honor as he fights a deadly form of brain cancer at his family’s retreat near Sedona. He is a six-term senator, former prisoner of war, former GOP presidential nominee and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Commit-
tee. In a statement Monday, McCain said he was proud the legislation would give American service members the resources they need.
“... I’m humbled that my colleagues in Congress chose to designate this bill in my name,” McCain said in a written statement. “Serving as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and working on behalf of America’s brave service members has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I’m proud that throughout my tenure, the committee has led with a spirit of comity and cooperation to provide for America’s Armed Forces.”
At the bill signing, Trump did not mention McCain, a high-profile critic who Trump routinely rips publicly, namely for his 2017 thumbs-down vote against a Republican attempt to roll back the Affordable Care Act.
The three Republican candidates running in Arizona’s Aug. 28 GOP Senate primary have been emphasizing their relationships with Trump.
McSally, a two-term congresswoman from Tucson, faces former state Sen. Kelli Ward of Lake Havasu City — who, Trump said in a tweet last year, it was “great” to see running — and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who Trump pardoned from a criminal contempt of court conviction in 2017.
McSally, the Republican establishment favorite, has been playing up her access to him. She tells voters about a meeting with him in the Oval Office, invitations to go to the White House to screen movies and working to advance his agenda.
Politico reported last Friday that the National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman, Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, asked the president during a phone call to endorse McSally.
The NRSC is the arm of the GOP dedicated to electing Republican senators. Despite calling her “terrific,” Trump did not endorse McSally on Monday.
A person familiar with the operations of the Trump campaign told The Arizona Republic last month in a written statement that the president “likes all of the candidates in the race very much” and looks forward to supporting the GOP nominee in the general election.
“President Trump has not endorsed anyone in the GOP Senate primary in Arizona and any photos or other general expressions of support shouldn’t be read as such,” the person wrote. The statement came after The Republic discovered that Ward was distributing a campaign flier with a photo of herself standing alongside Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Trump agreed to pose for a photo with Ward during the December visit, but specifically asked that it not be shared, according to a White House official who witnessed the brief exchange but is not authorized to speak publicly about it.
Arpaio has repeatedly told The Republic that he has not asked for Trump’s endorsement. As a rule, he has said, he never asks anyone for their support.