Mark Kelly is the latest proponent of the “Everyone is 12” theory.
The Democratic senator from Arizona and frequent critic of Pete Hegseth accused the defense secretary of “playing Army” during his time leading the Pentagon. On Monday, the Navy veteran told reporters that Hegseth’s machismo came off like a child puffing up his chest.
“He runs around on a stage like he’s a 12-year-old playing army. And it is ridiculous. It is embarrassing. I cannot imagine what our allies think looking at that guy in this job — one of the most important jobs in our country,” Kelly said.
Hegseth recently shared a parody of a Franklin the Turtle children’s book, made to show the character launching a rocket-propelled grenade at drug boats. Kelly noted it as another example of the defense secretary’s childishness.
“He is putting out on the internet, turtles with rocket-propelled grenades — I mean, have you seen this?” Kelly said. “This is the Secretary of Defense! This is not a serious person. He should have been fired after Signalgate, and then every single day after that.”
Kelly was part of a cadre of Democratic lawmakers who released a video encouraging members of the military to defy any illegal orders given by their superiors. President Donald Trump accused the congresspeople of sedition and floated the death penalty as an appropriate punishment last month. When outlets reported on Trump’s statements, the White House accused them of bias in a newly launched “Media Offenders” list.
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Kelly is one of the most vocal critics of a September attack on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. Pilots circled back after the initial attack to hit survivors in the water, reportedly following a Hegseth order to “kill them all.” That double strike has been denounced as a war crime by Trump admin detractors.
