Sen Mark Kelly slams Iran strikes, claims 'people off the street' would do better than Trump admin
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., claimed during an interview on MS NOW that a "random group of people off the street" would do a better job than President Donald Trump and his administration.
Sen. Mark Kelly criticized President Donald Trump over the U.S.-Israel strikes in Iran on Wednesday and claimed a random group of people "off the street" would do a better job than the president and his administration in handling Iran.
"I watch this group of people who are supposed to be leading our country — not just the president, Secretary of Defense and others — you know, five people that were on the background on the slide here, and I'm thinking, you could pick a random group of people off the street tonight here in Washington, D.C. — just a random group — and they could probably do a better job than our government is doing right now with this," Kelly argued during a conversation with MS NOW's Jen Psaki.
Kelly spoke about his commander during the first Gulf War — during which he flew several combat missions — and said, "you could just feel just in his core that he understood how significant of an issue this was — that some of us might die."
Trump announced that the U.S. and Israel were striking Iran on Saturday, and strikes have continued. The Pentagon released a new video highlighting the overwhelming power of the U.S. military during the first "100 hours" of Operation Epic Fury. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said U.S. forces "control the skies by launching from the sea" and are finding and destroying the Iranian regime’s mobile missile launch capabilities with "lethal precision."
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks after departing federal court on Feb. 3, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
"We have six dead Americans who paid the ultimate price. And we have a president — and I'm not going to go into things he's said in the past about the military — but we have a president that I have serious concerns about whether he understands his role here," Kelly told Psaki.
He criticized Trump for not talking about his intention to strike Iran during the State of the Union address.
"His ultimate, you know, job is to protect U.S. service members, protect U.S. citizens," Kelly said. "He talked about it the night of the State of the Union, but why didn't he talk more about this? I mean, he could have discussed this and tried to explain to the American people how is this going to help them with their cost of rent and groceries and healthcare, which, by the way, he made much, much harder for millions of Americans."
"This is not helping people with their everyday lives. And he didn't offer any explanation. I mean, a little video in the middle of the night?" he added.
President Donald Trump arrives for a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Democrats have been very critical of Trump's actions, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries even predicting "failure."
"The American people want us to focus on making their life better and making their life more affordable; not getting involved in another endless war in the Middle East that is going to end in failure. This administration somehow found the resources, has found billions of dollars for bombs but can't find any money to actually bring down the high cost of living here in the United States of America," Jeffries said.
"President Trump can walk and chew gum at the same time," White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital in a statement. "While the U.S. military continues wrecking the Iranian terrorist regime, the Trump administration at home remains laser-focused on delivering more economic relief for the American people."
"President Trump’s economic agenda unleashed historic job, wage, and investment growth in his first term, and Americans can rest assured that as this same agenda — along with historic drug pricing, trade, and investment deals — continues to take effect, the best is yet to come," the statement added.
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Sen. Mark Kelly is seen in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 27, in Washington, D.C. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Kelly sued the War Department, as well as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, in January over the agency's actions to demote him and cut his retirement pay for urging military service members to "refuse illegal orders" in a video message with other leading Democrats.
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A federal judge ruled in February that the Pentagon cannot punish Kelly for taking part in a video that called on U.S. military members to defy "illegal orders."
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