Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly fired back once again at billionaire Elon Musk after Musk doubled down on his accusation that Kelly is a "traitor" for backing Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russia.
Kelly, a former U.S. Navy combat pilot and astronaut, recently made his third visit to Ukraine since 2023, where he visited a military hospital and met with Red Cross staff. During his visit, he spoke with wounded service members and spent time with pilots who have flown combat missions defending against Russian air attacks.
His visit came in the wake of a contentious White House meeting last month between President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Vice President J.D. Vance. The meeting turned heated when Vance berated Zelenskyy, leading the Ukrainian president to leave without signing an agreement for U.S. security guarantees in exchange for access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals.
Earlier this month, after Kelly reflected on his trip and commented that "any agreement [to end the war] has to protect Ukraine’s security and can’t be a giveaway to Putin," Musk called Kelly a traitor, a bizarre escalation of what was a pretty standard post from a sitting elected official.
You can see their interaction below.
And Musk still has Kelly on his mind, responding with the following to Fox News anchor Bret Baier when Baier asked Musk why he'd called a noted veteran, astronaut, and sitting senator a "traitor":
"Well, I think someone should care about the interests of the United States above the interests of another country. And if they don't, they're a traitor." ... That [his bonafides] doesn't mean it's OK for him to put the interests of another country above America."
When asked for his thoughts on Musk's remarks, Kelly told CNN:
"What I will say is that I've spent an entire career standing up for our country, defending our country, flying in combat over Iraq, flying in space on the space shuttle, serving in the United States Senate."
"My entire life has been about serving this country and I always stand with the best interests of our nation. ... Standing up for our allies and standing up for democracy is in the best interests of the United States. And when you consider—I mean, who is Elon standing with at this point?"
"A bunch of billionaires. It seems to me that some folks in the administration sort of switch sides here. I would put Elon at this point in the category of being much closer to Russia."
Kelly shared the footage of his remarks in a follow-up post on X and criticized Musk further for the federal spending cuts he's undertaken via his advisory Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE):
"Still going with the “traitor” line, Elon? You still don’t get it: Supporting our allies and defending democracy makes our country safer."
"What you’re doing, firing veterans and attacking Social Security, that only serves you and your billionaire friends looking for a tax cut."
You can see his post and the footage below.
Many echoed Kelly's criticisms.
Kelly previously told reporters that Musk is “not a serious guy” and that he “should go back to building rockets.”
He also pointed out that Musk has "slashed and burned the federal government to make room for a giant tax cut for billionaires like himself."
Indeed, during his Fox News interview, Musk downplayed the scope of DOGE-related firings amid the broader wave of federal layoffs. His team criticized the government's outdated systems for records, payments, and more, vowing to bring in a tech-savvy, user-friendly overhaul. As for concerns about DOGE’s operations, they largely dismissed them.
Musk said DOGE is leading "a revolution and I think it might be the biggest revolution in the government since the original revolution."
