Arizona's McSally is a symbol of the GOP's humiliating collapse under Trump: columnist

In a column for Bloomberg, political observer Francis Wilkinson wrote that Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) can be viewed as the poster child for Republicans who set aside their beliefs and values in order to bask in the glow of Trumpism -- only to see that calculated move blow up in their faces.

With McSally expected to lose an Arizona Senate race for the second time in two years after being appointed to fill the seat of former Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) who retired -- Wilkinson stated the former fighter pilot had the kind of resume that should have ensured her political career until she decided to ally herself with Donald Trump.

Beginning, "If the degradation of the Republican Party were cast as a morality tale, the lead character might be Senator Martha McSally of Arizona," the columnist added, "In the highly likely event that McSally is defeated tomorrow by her Democratic opponent, former astronaut Mark Kelly, her electoral defeat will be an anticlimax. McSally had been sinking since the toxic dawn of Donald Trump’s presidency, but she hit bottom last week when she publicly debased herself before a man who could never equal her own service and accomplishments."

Praising McSally for her two decades in the Air Force and for being the first woman to command a fighter squadron, Wilkinson noted that, at one time, McSally opposed the candidacy of Trump and refused to endorse him 2016, calling his Access Hollywood comments about groping women, "..disgusting," before adding, "Joking about sexual assault is unacceptable. I’m appalled.”

But that was before Trump became president and attracted a cult-like following.

Writing that Arizona senator has supported the president 90 percent of the time when she wasn't vociferously defending him during his impeachment trial, the columnist suggested that has been McSally's undoing.

Then came last week when the president treated her like an afterthought at a rally.

"Last Wednesday, the woman who fought her way to respect as a leader of men in the Air Force, who demanded respect for women in Saudi Arabia, and who respected herself too much in 2016 to endorse Donald Trump, appeared at a rally with the president in Goodyear, Arizona. Trump, having concluded that McSally is insufficiently popular to boost him in the state, didn’t even bother feigning respect; he treated McSally like, well, a dog.," calling out to her before the crowd and saying, "Come on. Quick. You got one minute! One minute, Martha! They don’t want to hear this, Martha. Come on. Let’s go. Quick, quick, quick. Come on. Let’s go.”

According to Wilkinson, "It was a grotesque performance, even by Trump’s standards. McSally made it worse. 'I’m coming!' she said. 'Thank you, President Trump!'"

Pointing out that McSally has made a major point in career to oppose sexual harassment of women, Wilkinson wrote, "... with her political career on the line, she proved no different than most of her fellow Republicans in her willingness to accept personal and public humiliation from the president of the United States."

You can read more here.