U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is someone it seems billionaire space entrepreneur — and world’s richest man — Elon Musk would admire. Kelly, after all, spent nearly a decade traveling to and from outer space, first commanding the Space Shuttle in 2001 and completing his last mission in 2011.
Musk famously wants to colonize Mars — and Kelly’s experience would, on the surface, seem to be something Musk might covet and revere, since the astronaut has been as far from earth as almost any human and might have valuable insights that would help Musk meet his goal.
Yet in this most politically fraught moment in America, when the “us against them” mentality has thoroughly suffused the political discourse, Musk’s latest accusation toward Kelly shows that there is no room in his thinking for any Democrat — or any figure who represents an obstacle to President Donald Trump‘s agenda. That agenda, as even some Republicans admit, means a change in the global world order, with Americans leaving and antagonizing longtime allies and aligning more directly with countries like Russia.
A recent trip Kelly made to Ukraine, after the Trump administration halted aid and reportedly truncated intelligence sharing with the war-torn country, brought Musk’s vitriolic condemnation.
When Kelly asserted that Americans should not abandon Ukraine, a Western European ally that Putin’s Russian forces invaded three years ago, Musk responded to Kelly — a patriot, military veteran and captain in the Navy who flew combat missions during the Gulf War — with this accusation: “You are a traitor.“
Questioning Musk’s accusation (“Traitor?”), Kelly responded to Musk — who, like Trump, has never served in the military: “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.”
Kelly wrote that “Donald Trump is trying to weaken Ukraine’s hand and we are owed an explanation. 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.”
Kelly added: “The world will become a very cold and lonely place if we continue this ridiculous ‘screw you, go it alone’ foreign policy. It’s dumb and it won’t age well and puts you and your kids and your grandkids at risk. America is the strongest, richest country in the world. We didn’t get there by being bullies like Putin, we got there by leading from the front and bringing our allies. That’s why I’ll continue to share with everyone who will listen why we must keep supporting Ukraine.”
Responses to the standoff are as binary and divided as the current politics seems to require, with Kelly supporters writing things like “Thank you Senator for your good work in the Senate and for your peace making efforts around the globe. America is grateful to you and to Gabby for your advocacy on gun safety as well. Keep at it!”
An America First responder didn’t go so far as Musk, but castigated Kelly for what they characterized as bad prioritizing, writing: “If you don’t understand your duty is to your country, not a foreign country, maybe you shouldn’t be in Congress.”
It’s noteworthy that Musk’s words and actions have not merely the power of persuasion on X, but also active power in Trump’s administration, so his accusation that Kelly is a “traitor” cannot be taken lightly.
The punishment for treason, which is what a “traitor” is guilty of, can be death according to the American law, where code 18 U.S. Code § 2381 – Treason says:
“Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”