Musk calls Sen. Kelly a ‘traitor’ over trip to Ukraine, Kelly hits back
Allison Pecorin and Sarah Beth Hensley, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — Elon Musk, the billionaire businessman and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, called Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly a “traitor” in a post on X after Kelly posted that he had visited Ukraine over the weekend.
Kelly, in a thread on X Sunday night, posted photos of his visit to Ukraine and wrote that “Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraine’s security and can’t be a giveaway to Putin.”
In a reply to the thread, Musk responded, “You are a traitor.”
Kelly, a former Navy pilot and astronaut, responded in a separate post on X.
“Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do,” wrote Kelly, whose recent trip marked his third visit to Ukraine since 2023.
The comments from Musk, one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers, comes weeks after an explosive meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office that devolved into a shouting match. During the stunning exchange, Trump and Vice President JD Vance rebuked Zelenskyy for his handling of the war, falsely blaming the Ukrainian leader for a conflict that began when Russia’s Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion.
After the meeting, Zelenskyy left without signing an agreement that would have given the U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, which the country had hoped would ensure the continued flow of U.S. military support as it battles Russia.
Trump’s administration has embarked on a dramatic pivot away from the “ironclad” backing of Ukraine practiced by former President Joe Biden’s administration. Trump has falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the war with Russia, called Zelenskyy a “dictator” and frozen military aid and intelligence support in a bid to force Ukraine into making concessions to Russia.
“If we abandon our ally Ukraine, we will be viewed by other countries including our other allies as untrustworthy and in the future we shouldn’t expect their help,” Kelly posted to X.
Kelly and Musk have feuded in the past. When Musk attacked Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen last month, calling him “an idiot,” Kelly and his brother Scott Kelly, also an astronaut, pushed back.
“Hey @ElonMusk, when you finally get the nerve to climb into a rocket ship, come talk to the three of us,” Kelly wrote.
(WASHINGTON) — Longtime Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell announced on Thursday he will not seek reelection next year.
McConnell, who turned 83 today, was largely expected to end his Senate tenure at the conclusion of his term in January 2027 but made it official in a floor speech in which he reflected on his decades-long political career.
“Seven times my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate. Every day in between I have humbled by the trust they place in me to do their business, right here,” he said. “Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime.”
“I will not seek this honor for an eighth time,” he continued. “My current term in the Senate will be my last.”
The Kentucky lawmaker stepped down from his role as party leader last year after a record-breaking 18 years atop the GOP conference.
McConnell said Thursday that serving in the role was “a rare and, yes, rather specific childhood dream” come true.
Since ending his tenure as leader, McConnell has distinguished himself as one of few Republican senators willing to challenge President Donald Trump. He has voted against three of Trump’s Cabinet nominees so far, more than any other GOP lawmaker in the body.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to embark on his first diplomatic mission abroad since being confirmed to his post, visiting five countries in Central and South America over the first week of February.
During the trip, Rubio is expected to reinforce the Trump administration’s immigration priorities with leaders in the region, according to a senior official, who said the secretary is also planning to address Beijing’s influence during several of the stops.
The State Department is also billing Rubio’s trip as historic — saying his six-day journey to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic marks the first time a U.S. secretary of state has opted to make his or her first official visit to Latin America in over 100 years.
“This is where we live”
In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Rubio said the trip is part of a realignment of American diplomatic priorities.
“For many reasons, U.S. foreign policy has long focused on other regions while overlooking our own. As a result, we’ve let problems fester, missed opportunities and neglected partners,” he said. “That ends now.”
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the region’s proximity to the United States was an important factor in selecting it for Rubio’s first trip.
“The fact of the matter is, this is where we live. This is who we are,” she said. “This is about not just wanting to have new partnerships — but that’s always good — but the nature of what it means to have an extended relationship with the people closest to you.”
Those relationships are vital for fulfilling the Trump administration’s border security and deportation plans, Rubio noted.
“Diplomacy’s role in this effort is central. We need to work with countries of origin to halt and deter further migrant flows, and to accept the return of their citizens present in the U.S. illegally,” he said.
Cooperation and coercion
However, the countries on his itinerary have largely been very cooperative with the administration so far, as other countries in the region Rubio will skip over remain hesitant to comply.
Guatemala, for instance, has accepted hundreds of migrants brought to the country on military planes since Trump took office, and the country’s leadership has signaled it is open to accepting deportees of other nationalities.
Meanwhile, Mexico, which is traditionally the U.S.’ most important partner in handling illegal immigration, has been much more tentative.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum originally said the country wouldn’t accept migrants from other countries, but she quietly reversed course in late January when she revealed Mexico had accepted over 4,000 deportees and that while “the large majority” was Mexican, others were not.
Mexico has also so far refused requests from the U.S. to allow military flights carrying deportees to land in the country, according to officials from both countries.
Honduras has posed another challenge to the administration’s agenda. According to data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the end of 2024, Hondurans made up the largest share of the population in the deportation pipeline. But ahead of Trump’s inauguration, the president of Honduras threatened to expel members of the U.S. military stationed in the country in response to mass deportations of Honduran nationals.
However, Honduran authorities have signaled the country’s position may be softening. The country’s foreign minister wrote on X that the government is in the process of launching a program to support returning migrants called “Brother, Come Home.”
The Trump administration has also had some early success in overtly pressuring countries to acquiesce. His threatened trade war against Colombia prompted its government to allow military deportation flights to land on its territory.
“It sends a message that this administration, President Trump, Secretary Rubio — they mean what they say,” said Mauricio Claver-Carone, special envoy for Latin America.
Claver-Carone also suggested the Trump administration would use gentler diplomatic tactics as well, saying that during Rubio’s trip, he will attempt to lay the groundwork for a program to repatriate migrants travelling through Central America with the government of Costa Rica.
He also addressed Richard Grenell’s visit to Venezuela to meet with strongman Nicolas Maduro on Friday.
“President Trump expects Nicolas Maduro to take back all of the Venezuelan criminals and gang members that have been exported to United States and to do so unequivocally and without condition,” he said, adding that Grenell, the envoy for special missions, will also urge Maduro to release American hostages held in the country.
A “direct threat” from China
Beyond immigration, Claver-Carone said Beijing’s growing influence in Central America will also be top of mind for Rubio through much of the trip, but it is expected to take center stage during the secretary’s first stop in Panama.
Trump has lodged a litany of complaints related to Panama’s operation of the canal that cuts through the country — claiming that American vessels are overcharged, lamenting that the U.S. ceded control of the vital waterway in the first place and promising “we’re taking it back” during his inaugural address.
Rubio has taken a more measured approach in discussing the Panama Canal while also underscoring that what he says are Trump’s legitimate concerns about the waterway — especially when it comes to companies controlled by Beijing located on each end of it.
“If the government in China in a conflict tells them to shut down the Panama Canal, they will have to,” Rubio said in an interview on Thursday. “That is a direct threat.”
Rubio continued to say it is a dynamic that cannot be allowed to continue.
“It is not in the national interest of the United States to have a canal we paid for and we built used as a leverage and a weapon against us. That can’t happen,” he said.
But ahead of Rubio’s visit, Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said handing back control of the canal isn’t a thought he can entertain.
“It’s impossible,” Mulino said during a press conference on Thursday. “I cannot negotiate, and much less open, a process of negotiation over the canal. That’s sealed. The canal belongs to Panama.”
(WASHINGTON) — While Friday’s explosive meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended with a shouting match, the start of the Oval Office meeting was full of optimism about signing the minerals deal.
Trump, who called the Ukrainian president a dictator last week, started the Oval Office spray in a smoother fashion, saying, “We’ve actually known each other for a long time. We’ve been dealing with each other for a long time and very well there. We had a little negotiation spat, but that worked out great, I think, for both countries.”
Zelenskyy was also optimistic about an agreement that would have given the United States access to critical minerals from Ukraine.
“I hope that this document will be the first step to real security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said. “Our people, our children really count on it. And, of course, we count that America will not stop support. Really, for us, it’s very important to support and to continue it. I want to discuss it with details further.”
Zelenskyy urged the U.S. to take a strong position in stopping Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he is a “killer” and “terrorist.”
“I hope that together we can stop him. But for us, it’s very important to to save our country, our values, our freedom and democracy,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy also stressed the importance of having the U.S. backing up European security contingencies.
“I think that France and U.K. already spoke to you, and we know that Europe is ready, but without the United States, they will not be ready to be as strong as we need,” he said.
Still, Trump argued that Russia will not go back on its word once a peace deal is reached, and he declined to get into security guarantees that Zelenskyy said he views as critical to any peace agreement.
“We’ll make a deal,” he said. “I have to make the deal first. I don’t worry about security right now.”
Other cracks started to show just over 10 minutes into the spray, including one notable moment when Zelenskyy and Trump disagreed over the amount of support Europe has given Ukraine.
“They really gave a lot, Mr. President,” Zelenskyy said.
“They gave a lot — but they gave much less,” Trump replied, without providing details.
“No,” Zelenskyy shot back with a look of skepticism, though they continued to keep the tone light.
Trump and Zelenskyy also disagreed over Putin’s reliability once a deal is struck, with Zelenskyy saying Putin will never accept just a ceasefire.
“It will not work without security guarantees,” the Ukrainian president added.
The president also defended his talks with Putin, saying it is the only way to get a deal across the finish line when he was pressed about concerns he’s too aligned with Putin.
“I’m not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United States of America. And for the good of the world,” Trump said.
Vice President J.D. Vance then chimed in and continued to push Trump’s point, claiming President Joe Biden did not do enough to deter the war.
At that point, Zelenskyy interjected, bringing up the struggles his country has faced over the last decade, prompting Vance and Trump to shout at the Ukrainian president.
