Senator Mark Kelly has issued a scathing response to Elon Musk's comment labeling him a 'traitor' following a visit to Ukraine.
It looks like Elon Musk could do with a hand making friends, and after branding ESA astronaut Andreas Morgensen an 'idiot', the world's richest man has now painted a target on Senator Mark Kelly's back. The Democrat and former US navy pilot has come under fire from Musk after he visited Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian officials and wounded service members.
Kelly is the Democrat senator for Arizona, making his third visit to the Ukrainian capital since 2023 in early March. This didn't sit well with Musk, and in the aftermath of a disastrous White House visit from President Volodymyr Zelensky, tensions are running high.
Musk notably called Zelensky 'evil' and claimed the President was looking for a 'forever war'.
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Posting on X following his latest visit, Kelly said: "What I saw proved to me we can't give up on the Ukrainian people."
He goes against what President Donald Trump is currently pushing for, with Kelly calling for security guarantees in any peace deal that's agreed: "Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraine's security and can't be a giveaway to Putin."
Kelly then called Russian President Vladimir Putin a 'war criminal', saying he regularly targets hospitals: "If Putin gains ground, he won’t agree to a ceasefire and will eventually threaten a NATO ally, and this puts American troops and the American people at risk."
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Although Kelly goes on to explain why it's 'important' that we stand with Ukraine, it seems not everyone agrees. Responding to the post, Musk simply replied: "You are a traitor."
It didn't take Kelly long to fire back his own barbs, also replying on X as he said: "Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do."
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Kelly doubled down on his beef with Musk, telling reporters on Capitol Hill: "He’s slashed and burned the federal government to make room for a giant tax cut for billionaires like himself. I’ve sworn an oath to this country, I’ve flown in combat, I served in the Navy for 25 years.
"It appears to me the oath that Elon Musk stands by is the oath to billionaires to make their lives easier, not the American people, not veterans. He’s not a serious guy. He should go back to building rockets.”
This isn't the first time Kelly and Musk have had a difference in opinion. Kelly and his twin brother, Scott, are both retired astronauts and were less than impressed about Musk's attack on Morgensen. At the time, the senator wrote: "Hey @ElonMusk, when you finally get the nerve to climb into a rocket ship, come talk to the three of us."
We're sure it won't be long until Musk response to Kelly's jibe about the tech mogul sticking to making rockets.