Mark Kelly says he will ‘seriously consider’ 2028 White House bid
Arizona senator faces backlash over video urging troops to refuse illegal orders
US Democratic Senator Mark Kelly has said he will “seriously consider” a run for the White House in 2028, as he remains embroiled in a legal and political dispute with the Trump administration over a video urging service members to refuse unlawful orders.
In an interview with BBC Newsnight, the Arizona lawmaker said he was weighing a White House run “because we’re in some seriously challenging times,” but emphasised that no decision had yet been made.
“It’s a serious decision. I just haven’t made it yet,” the 61-year-old former astronaut and retired Navy captain said.
Kelly and five other lawmakers — all of whom have military or intelligence backgrounds — drew criticism after releasing a 90-second video in November encouraging service members to disobey orders they deemed unlawful. The video was posted amid questions surrounding the legality of US strikes on suspected narco-trafficking boats off the coast of South America.
Who is Mark Kelly?
US senator from Arizona, elected in 2020
Former US Navy combat pilot with 25 years of military service
Former NASA astronaut who flew four space shuttle missions
Husband of former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a 2011 assassination attempt
Targeted by the Trump administration after releasing a video urging troops to refuse illegal orders
Has said he will “seriously consider” running for president in 2028
President Donald Trump accused the group of “seditious behaviour” and sharply criticised Kelly. The senator told the BBC that he and his wife, former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, have since received repeated death threats.
“We get them on a weekly basis now,” Kelly said. “We had to get security to protect us 24 hours a day.”
Giffords survived an assassination attempt in 2011 when she was shot in the head during a public event in Arizona.
The Pentagon has sought to demote Kelly in his retired military rank, though those efforts have not succeeded. A grand jury declined to charge him with seditious conspiracy. Kelly said he expects the legal dispute to continue and is prepared to take the matter as far as the Supreme Court if necessary.
“This is not going to end by me going away,” he told the BBC. “I’m going to continue to fight this thing even if it goes all the way to the Supreme Court.”
Critics of the Trump administration have described the action against the six lawmakers as an attack on free speech and an attempt to punish political opponents. Kelly argued that Trump’s rhetoric has contributed to the threats he and his family now face.
“Donald Trump is so reckless about what he says,” he said. “There are folks out there that react to what he said and people listen to him.”
Kelly’s comments add him to a growing list of Democrats being discussed as potential 2028 contenders, including former vice-president Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in 2024, and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
