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If you hadn’t heard of Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly before President Donald Trump called for his execution, you probably have now.
In November, Kelly and five other Democrats in Congress who served in the military or CIA posted a video reminding active-duty personnel of their legal duty to disobey unlawful orders. In response, Trump angrily called for Kelly to be put to death, and the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth began his ongoing attempt to censure and demote Kelly, who is a retired Navy captain.
Kelly sued the Pentagon, and a federal judge temporarily blocked Hegseth’s move to demote Kelly. The judge chastised Hegseth for trying to intimidate and silence a military veteran, and also noted that it’s probably unconstitutional to punish a member of Congress over First Amendment-protected speech.
According to a Cronkite News article, Kelly’s campaign funding exploded after Trump thrust him into the limelight. He raised more than $12.5 million in campaign funds in the last three months of the year alone, according to his year-end campaign finance report. He could use these funds to kickstart a 2028 presidential campaign, which he told the BBC he will “seriously consider.”
This means Trump essentially boosted Kelly’s chances of a successful presidential run, although this isn’t the first time he’s been in the conversation. Kelly’s name was thrown into the mix after former President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, and he was also on a shortlist of potential running mates for eventual nominee Kamala Harris.
Kelly presents an intriguing package. He’s a military veteran and former astronaut, and is the husband of mass shooting survivor and former Rep. Gabby Giffords. Together, they have advocated for sensible gun control policies.
Still, in the summer of 2024, Kelly’s name barely registered, and Phoenix New Times readers don’t seem convinced. On Facebook, more than 4,000 people commented on the Cronkite News story, which New Times republished.
Some would like to see Kelly in office. Lesley wrote:
“Can he start tomorrow…”
Added Wayne:
“Trump boosted everyone else’s chances by just being trump!”
Nimai thought Kelly shouldn’t shoot so high, but for more vindictive reasons:
“I would love to see him as Secretary of Defense, to one day tell Hegseth to hold HIS beer!”
But many commenters weren’t impressed by Kelly’s chances. Said Mike:
“Better chance of going to Mars and back.”
Katie added:
“Lmfao. Pretty sure my Great Dane had better chances lol”
The mere suggestion caused Scott to do a spike take:
“Ha! Come on. I was drinking water. Wiping off the computer now.”
However, perhaps the most common theme had little to do with Kelly’s politics and more to do with his, uh, follicular challenges. Wrote Tommie:
“Not lex luther!!!!”
Dominic chimed in:
“Zero chance… Due looks like an weirder version of Dr. Evil.”
Andy added:
“Fester for President? Hard pass….”
Frankly, it’s harder to imagine Kelly with hair, but maybe those readers are on to something. The last unapologetically balding president was Gerald Ford in the 1970s, and Ford was notably never elected by anyone. And the last fully chrome-domed president? Unless John Adams or Martin Van Buren shaved it all off at one point, the United States has never had one.
