WATCH: Martha McSally Says ‘It Pisses Me Off’ When Trump Attacks John McCain, Says ‘Let Him Rest in Peace’

Sen. Martha McSally was pressed to defend late Sen. John McCain at a debate when her opponent, astronaut Mark Kelly, accused McSally of failing to stand up against President Donald Trump’s long string of attacks on the departed war hero.

McSally and Kelly faced off Tuesday night in a debate moderated by Ted Simons of Arizona PBS, who pressed the senator about Trump’s reported remarks about American war dead — reporting that has been confirmed by at least five news outlets.

“Senator McSally, the president has reportedly, by way of the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic Monthly, CNN, Fox News, all reporting that he referred to members of the military as quote ‘losers and suckers’,” Simons said, and asked “You are a military veteran. Your thoughts on this.”

McSally replied that “I’m not going to comment on anonymous sources,” and changed the subject with a lengthy reply about military funding.

Undeterred, Simons pressed, saying “Senator, the question remains, have you looked into the reports, have you looked into the anonymous source reports, does it concern you? It concerns a lot of people and a lot of military families. Does it concern you?”

McSally again delivered a lengthy response that skirted the question, and Trump’s reported comments.

Simons posed the same question to Kelly, who replied “Absolutely. He’s the commander-in-chief of our armed forces,” and then brought up McCain.

“What also concerns me is what he said about Senator John McCain, now repeatedly on more than one occasion, especially after his, when he passed away,” Kelly said, and went on to add that “Senator McCain was a hero of mine from my earliest days in the United States Navy as a navy pilot,” and that being his friend “was one of the greatest honors of my lifetime.”

“And to hear Senator McSally not stick up for Senator John McCain when the president of the United States is attacking him repeatedly, even after he passed away, and as a veteran, I find it incredibly hard to understand that on not one occasion would Senator McSally come to Senator McCain’s defense,” Kelly said.

“Did you not stick up for Senator McCain?” Simons asked McSally, who replied “I absolutely have. It’s been reported many times. I’ve publicly and privately repeatedly talked to President Trump and asked him to stop attacking John McCain.”

“Quite frankly it pisses me off when he does it. It’s been an honor to even work with Senator John McCain, I never would have imagined I learned about him when I was a cadet in the military about what he endured as a POW. And to be able to work with him to save the ATM and support our military, and now be able to serve in his seat, and so I repeatedly said stop doing that. Let’s let him rest in peace,” McSally said.

When news of Trump’s most recent comments broke, McSally gave a statement to the Arizona Republic that read “As I have said many times, I have the deepest respect for Senator McCain, who is an American hero. I am honored to be serving in his seat.”

And last March, McSally described a private conversation she claims to have had with Trump:

“I made it clear I love John McCain. John McCain is an American hero,” McSally told reporters at Luke Air Force Base west of Phoenix. “This state reveres John McCain, and his family deserves respect by everybody. And so that’s my message.”

Asked if Trump is showing respect to McCain and his family, McSally said: “Again, there is a lot of disrespect going on out there all the way around. I did talk to the president yesterday. I wanted to make sure he understood how I felt about Sen. McCain, and how Arizona felt about Sen. John McCain, and he heard me.”

The paper also now notes that “running as a Trump-aligned Senate candidate in 2018, a race that she lost, McSally came under heavy criticism for not speaking up for McCain as McCain was entering his final months battling deadly brain cancer.”

Watch the clip above via PBS.