In my lifetime alone, there have been several elections in which a sitting president ran against a veteran opponent — 1980, 1984, 1992, and 2004 among them — and many more throughout our history, going all the way back to John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who openly despised each other. The incumbent administrations did not use the power to punish their rivals, and George W. Bush even faced criticism in 20024 for not denouncing the “swift boat” attacks against John Kerry’s service in 2004.
The 2004 election was a long time ago.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) is not running for president, but he’s criticized Donald Trump. The administration is now working to strip him of his military rank and cut his pension, an unprecedented, and deeply un-American, weaponization of the Pentagon.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been escalating attacks against Kelly over a video in which Kelly and other veterans in Congress urged service members to refuse unlawful orders, asserting that soldiers are not obligated to follow illegal commands. Hegseth, Trump, and conservatives in Congress and across the media were furious over the video when it was released in December. “Seditious behavior, punishable by DEATH!” the president wrote of the video in November.
Hegseth then ordered an investigation into Kelly, a retired Navy captain, and threatened to have him court-martialed. Hegseth wrote on X this week that the American people expect Kelly to be brought to “justice,” announcing that he is initiating steps to demote his retirement rank and cut his pension, claiming it undermines military discipline.
Kelly, in turn, has vowed to challenge the move, calling it politically motivated, and has even suggested he could file a lawsuit.
The dispute highlights the critical issue of military obedience, as U.S. law and international norms affirm that service members are legally bound to disobey illegal orders. The video was recorded as the Trump administration has deployed the armed forces into U.S. cities, which has been challenged in court, and carried out a series of attacks inside of and off the coast of Venezuela, which has also drawn legal scrutiny. Kelly’s position reflects the fundamental principle that military personnel are not just permitted, but required, to reject unlawful directives. Hegseth called Kelly’s position “seditious in nature” in his post this week.
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But Hegseth, who has run the Pentagon like a Karen at Starbucks who is late for yoga, may have, as he likes to say, “effed around and found out.” This unprecedented move will not only damage his already limited legacy at the Pentagon; it virtually guarantees he will be remembered not just as a cautionary tale, but as one of the most disliked leaders among the men and women in uniform who ever held the job. Multiple Republican senators have already criticized Hegseth for going after Kelly’s service, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) calling it “ridiculous.”
Hegseth’s actions are not normal, not acceptable, and not something Americans should ever grow accustomed to — unless we are willing to watch our country slide into the authoritarian habits of fragile third-world regimes in which leaders rule by intimidation instead of law.
As for Senator Kelly, who flew combat missions in the Gulf War before becoming an astronaut, the man is a hero. His wife Gabby Giffords, a former congresswoman from Arizona who survived an assassination attempt and has advocated for gun violence prevention, is a hero. Their sacrifices for this nation speak for themselves. Hegseth is their antithesis. He knows this, so he is lashing out in the only way he can, with a public temper tantrum.
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Today his target is Kelly. Tomorrow it could be a whistleblower, a retired NCO criticizing policy, or any veteran who refuses to toe the party line. Kelly said as much this week. “Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way,” he wrote on X. “It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.”
When those who wore the uniform are told their First Amendment rights evaporate the moment their words inconvenience the ruling faction, the result is fear — and a silent military community is exactly what would-be strongmen prefer.Kelly certainly isn’t obliging them. “Donald Trump deferred the draft five times because he had bone spurs,” the senator said in a viral video this week. “Not everyone has to serve in our military, but when you’re going to question my patriotism and lecture me about duty to this country and threaten me with a court-martial, four generations of service to this country earns me the right to speak. Five deferments earns nothing.”