Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) recently found himself under fire by President Donald Trump’s supporters for posting a physically affectionate photograph on X. They demanded to know the identity of the woman in the picture… but were not prepared for the answer.
“For Republicans, the real soccer scandal of the weekend had nothing to do with Trump at all,” wrote The Bulwark’s Will Sommer on Tuesday. Sommer referred to Trump because the president controversially contacted the head of FIFA to reverse a ban on one of America’s star soccer players as they prepared to face Belgium, a game they ultimately lost.
“They were fuming about Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) wearing a Mexico jersey to watch the England-Mexico game with Mexico fans at a Tucson watch party,” Sommer added.
In addition to complaining that Kelly sided with Mexico over England in the World Cup, pro-Trump influencer Laura Loomer tried to sic the MAGA movement against Kelly by asking why he had his arm affectionately draped around a slender blonde woman.
“A US Senator who represents a BORDER STATE wearing Mexico’s jersey is bad enough, but I thought he was ‘super loyal’ to his medically brain dead wife who was shot in the head?” Loomer wrote on X, referring to how Kelly’s wife — the former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) — nearly died in a 2011 assassination attempt.
Loomer’s post, which has been viewed 1.8 million times as of this writing, was quickly rebutted by Giffords herself.
“Well, she looks pretty great to me @captmarkkelly ” Giffords posted, confirming that she is the woman in the picture.
Kelly has found himself in the Trump movement’s crosshairs before. When he joined a number of other Democratic lawmakers in urging members of the military to not follow illegal or unconstitutional orders, Trump accused Kelly of “sedition” that is “punishable by death.” Similarly, while delivering a special address to Congress in February, the president engaged in a stare down with the senator after demanding lawmakers stand up to express their support for his immigration agenda… and Kelly remained seated.
Speaking to NOTUS in June, Kelly said that Trump’s ire does not phase him personally.
“I don’t get angry about it; I don’t lose any sleep,” Kelly told NOTUS. “They’re going to do s—— like this. They’re flailing. They know the law’s on my side, and they want to shut people up. This is a corrupt administration, and it’s clear to everybody.”
He added, “If they’re going to go after the rights of 2 million retired service members, it might as well be me.”