In a heated exchange on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” Monday, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) took aim at billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, calling him out for supposed harm to veterans and accusing him of “ruining people’s lives.”
Kelly’s comments came after Musk called him a ‘traitor’ on X (formerly Twitter), responding to Kelly’s recent statements about his trip to Ukraine. Instead of addressing the real concerns Americans have about government waste, bad policies, and misplaced priorities, Kelly used his time to attack a private citizen who has done more for innovation, space exploration, and technology than most politicians combined.
The controversy centers around Musk’s business decisions—specifically, layoffs at companies like SpaceX and Twitter, where redundant, underperforming, or unnecessary government-related roles were cut.
But Kelly, a former astronaut and longtime defender of bloated government spending, framed it as an attack on veterans.
“I had veterans in my office last week who, after really good performance reports, found out that Elon Musk fired them for poor performance. He has ruined these people’s lives.”
Kelly completely ignores the fact that Musk is an employer in the private sector—where results actually matter. Unlike the massive and inefficient federal bureaucracy, private businesses can’t afford to keep people on the payroll just because they once served in the military.
Instead of acknowledging that many of these layoffs were part of broader efforts to cut waste, Kelly went on the usual Democrat attack against successful businessmen, saying:
“The only oath I can think of that maybe Elon has sworn is an oath to his own checking account.”
One of the most revealing parts of Kelly’s rant was his attack on the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a newly created department aimed at cutting unnecessary federal waste and streamlining operations.
Kelly, like many big-government Democrats, doesn’t want accountability in Washington. He wants government jobs to exist forever, regardless of whether they’re needed or not. The fact that he’s defending bureaucratic waste while attacking a businessman who actually gets things done tells you everything you need to know.
“So I think Elon needs to, you know, go back to making rockets. You know, that’s what he should focus on. He shouldn’t be focused on this slash and burn of the federal government.”
Translation: Stop cutting waste. Stop exposing inefficiencies. Let us keep growing the government without question.
Mark Kelly is fighting harder to protect Washington bureaucrats than to fix the real problems hurting everyday Americans—like Biden’s inflation crisis, the border disaster, and rising crime rates.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk is actually building things, creating jobs, and pushing America forward in industries that matter.
The real question isn’t why Musk is holding politicians accountable—it’s why politicians like Kelly are so afraid of efficiency, accountability, and the private sector.
What do you think? Should we hold government spending accountable, or let Democrats like Kelly keep growing the swamp?
Let us know your thoughts!
