Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a top adviser to President Trump, doubled down on accusing Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) of being a “traitor” because he visited Ukraine and insisted the United States support the country earlier this month.
Fox News’s Bret Baier asked Musk why he would call the senator a traitor on X in reaction to his trip to Ukraine and his argument that the U.S. should not give up on Ukraine amid its war against Russia.
“I think somebody should… care about the interests of the United States above the interests of another country. If they don’t, they’re a traitor,” Musk responded.
Baier noted that Kelly is a decorated veteran, former astronaut and sitting senator.
“That doesn’t mean it’s okay for him to put the interests of another country above America,” Musk replied.
Kelly, a former U.S. Navy combat pilot, toured a military hospital and interacted with Red Cross personnel during his visit to Ukraine. He responded to Musk calling him a traitor, sharing on X, “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.”
Musk doubling down on his argument against Kelly comes as the Trump administration has been working to strike a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia to end the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House in February, which turned into a heated spat in the Oval Office when Trump called the Ukrainian president “disrespectful” and Vice President Vance accused him of not being grateful enough for the president’s help.
Musk and Kelly argued on social media earlier this year, too.
Kelly and his brother Scott Kelly, also a retired astronaut, called out Musk over his attacks on another astronaut on X.
“Hey @ElonMusk, when you finally get the nerve to climb into a rocket ship, come talk to the three of us,” the senator wrote on X in response to Musk’s post calling Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen “an idiot.”
