Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., sparked a wave of criticism on Sunday after sharing photos of himself wearing a Mexico national soccer team jersey while attending a World Cup watch party as Mexico faced England in tournament action.
Kelly posted the images to X, showing himself dressed in Mexico’s signature green while cheering for the co-host nation during the highly anticipated matchup. The post quickly drew widespread attention across social media, where it accumulated millions of views and thousands of replies in a matter of hours.
Much of the reaction centered on frustration from supporters of the U.S. Men’s National Team, who questioned why a sitting U.S. senator appeared to be publicly backing one of America’s longtime soccer rivals instead of the United States.
The criticism spread rapidly as users weighed in on Kelly’s decision. Many commenters pointed out that they had not seen him post similar images supporting the U.S. team during the tournament. Others openly wondered whether he planned to wear a U.S. jersey or publicly cheer for the American squad ahead of Monday’s World Cup matchup against Belgium.
The controversy extended beyond ordinary fans and drew responses from several prominent conservative commentators.
Fox News analyst and OutKick founder Clay Travis criticized Kelly’s decision, arguing there was “zero percent chance any American sports fans I know would do this.” His remarks added to the growing online debate over the senator’s public display of support for Mexico during one of the tournament’s biggest matches.
CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings also joined the discussion, using Kelly’s photos to criticize what he described as the “Modern Democratic Party.” Jennings cited the images as an example while weighing in on the broader political conversation that unfolded online following Kelly’s post.
The reactions continued to pour in as the images circulated widely across social media, with many responses focusing less on the soccer match itself and more on Kelly’s decision to wear another nation’s colors during an international competition involving one of the United States’ biggest regional rivals.
As the online debate intensified, events on the field ultimately shifted attention back to the tournament.
Mexico’s hopes of advancing came to an end after England secured a dramatic 3-2 victory.
England built an early advantage, taking a commanding lead before Mexico mounted a comeback effort that turned the contest into a tense finish. The momentum shifted again early in the second half after England was reduced to 10 players, giving Mexico an opportunity to close the gap.
A late penalty allowed Mexico to pull within one goal and raise hopes of a comeback, but England held firm through the closing moments to preserve the victory.
The result eliminated Mexico from the World Cup, ending its tournament run despite the spirited late rally. Meanwhile, Kelly’s social media post continued generating discussion online, with critics questioning his choice to publicly support Mexico as attention turned toward the United States’ upcoming match against Belgium.
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