Flying with Trump on Air Force One was ‘honor’ for Sen. Martha McSally

PHOENIX – As a former fighter jet pilot, U.S. Sen. Martha McSally knows a thing or two about exciting flights.

She took one Tuesday, flying with President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One for a trip to Phoenix to tour a facility making protective gear for health care workers on the coronavirus frontlines.

“What an honor,” McSally said Wednesday on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.

It was her first trip on the aircraft.

“As a veteran myself just to be able to fly on Air Force One and be with the president and host him in Arizona, it was just an incredible experience and I was so proud of Arizonans. He got to see what Arizonans are doing to make a difference,” she said.

Republican U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar and Debbie Lesko also made the trip from Washington, D.C. The group departed Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and arrived at Sky Harbor in the early afternoon.

“For us to even be on the plane or greet him, we all had to be tested [for the virus],” McSally said.

After landing in the Valley, the four were whisked to the nearby Honeywell plant, where they were joined by fellow Republicans Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert and Gov. Doug Ducey.

They also had to be tested before getting close to the president.

The aerospace facility announced in April it would begin making N-95 masks and other personal protective gear at the plant.

McSally wore a cloth mask when she went to sit and listen to Trump at the manufacturing plant.

“I put on my little Arizona flag mask,” she said.

Trump didn’t a wear mask.

“I did what I was advised to do and he did what he was advised to do,” McSally said.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jeremy Foster contributed to this report.

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