MAGA has melted down after a nemesis of Donald Trump chose to wear a Mexico soccer jersey at the World Cup.
Sen. Mark Kelly is one of the best-known characters in the so-called “seditious six” who have earned the ire of Trump and his supporters after they reminded members of the military that they don’t need to follow orders that they deem illegal.
Chief among their detractors is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has since tried to end the career and tarnish the reputation of Kelly, having even called for the veteran to be demoted.
Kelly headed to Tucson, Arizona, on Sunday with his former congresswoman wife, Gabby Giffords, where the pair donned the latest Mexico home jersey to support the joint co-hosts in their round-of-32 game against England.
It ended in a 3-2 defeat for Mexico, but Kelly appeared to enjoy himself, sharing a selfie with a room full of Mexico supporters with the caption “Lots of people out in Tucson to watch Mexico take on England. Tucson and La Rosa sure know how to do the World Cup!”
Popular faceless MAGA accounts were incensed.
“Seditious six member roots for Mexico. Is anyone shocked?” fumed the account Libs of TikTok to its 4.7 million followers on X.
In a similar vein, the account End Wokeness shared Kelly’s picture to its 3.9 million followers with the caption “Politician in Mexico? Nope—Sen. Mark Kelly (D) of Arizona, rooting for Team Mexico.”
Kelly and his fellow members of the so-called “seditious six” became a MAGA obsession in the wake of Hegseth’s flurry of strikes on small vessels, which he claimed were Venezuelan drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Their video made Trump fume, writing on Truth Social: “Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand—We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.”
However, in February, a Grand Jury refused to indict the Democratic lawmakers, including Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio, Chrissy Houlahan, and Elissa Slotkin.
After news of the failed federal indictment reached him, Kelly said, “This is an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies,” the BBC reports.
“It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me, now it appears they tried to have me charged with a crime.”
The following day, a judge refused to downgrade former combat pilot Kelly’s rank, which, if done, would also have resulted in a significant loss of pension pay.
In a scathing rebuke of Hegseth, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrote: “This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees,” the BBC reports.
“To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from their Government, and our Constitution demands they receive it!”
Hegseth was unimpressed and said the judge’s decision would be immediately appealed.
The Daily Beast has contacted Kelly for comment.
