Senator Kelly criticized for Mexico jersey at World Cup

U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona faced a wave of criticism on social media after posting photos of himself wearing a Mexican national soccer team jersey at a World Cup watch party in Tucson on Sunday, July 5. The Democrat attended the event as Mexico played England, a match England ultimately won 3-2.

Kelly shared the images on the social media platform X, writing in the caption, "Lots of people out in Tucson to watch Mexico take on England. Tucson and La Rosa sure know how to do the World Cup!" The post quickly garnered millions of views and thousands of replies, many of which were critical.

The backlash centered on the perception that a sitting U.S. senator was publicly supporting a rival national team while the United States men's national team remained in the tournament. Critics, including several prominent commentators, questioned Kelly's loyalty. Fox News analyst Clay Travis asked on social media what people thought about "US politicians putting on jerseys from another country in a tournament the US is playing in and rooting for the foreign country in public," adding he knew of "zero percent chance" any American sports fans would do so. Other responses on the platform...