Arizona Senator Mark Kelly decided to throw on a Mexico soccer jersey at a World Cup watch party in Tucson, post it on social media, and then act surprised when the entire internet reminded him that he is, in fact, a United States Senator. As The American Tribune reported, Kelly shared a photo of himself decked out in the green jersey, writing on X, "Lots of people out in Tucson to watch Mexico take on England. Tucson and La Rosa sure know how to do the World Cup!"
Now look, nobody is saying you can't enjoy a good match between Mexico and England. Soccer is fun. Nachos are fun. Watch parties are fun. But when the United States is actively competing in the same tournament, maybe the guy who represents Arizona in the upper chamber of Congress could at least pretend to root for the home team first. It's like showing up to your kid's school play wearing a t-shirt that says "Broadway is better." Technically not wrong, but read the room.
The replies came fast and they came merciless. One commenter wrote, "You can't even pick a winning non-American team to treasonously support. Total loser." Another noted, "It's your country's 250th birthday. Where's your USA jersey?" Perhaps the most measured response pointed out, "I'm happy for the Mexican people to support their club. And anybody who has Mexican heritage. I think that's cool. But you are not Mexican. Mexico is a huge rival of United States in soccer. Everybody knows this."
Clay Travis piled on, posting, "What do we think 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? Zero percent chance any American sports fans I know would do this." CNN's Scott Jennings added his own dig: "Modern Democratic Party: wear another country's jersey and post a photo of yourself taking a photo of yourself."
Meanwhile, providing what you might call a contrast in messaging, President Trump was at Mount Rushmore for an America 250 celebration on July 4th, delivering lines like, "Show us a mountain, and we'll just climb it. Show us an ocean, and we'll just cross it. Show us a problem, and we will just solve it." He also declared, "In America, we speak English because that is the language of our founding. For a thousand years, that has been the language of freedom," which itself drew some raised eyebrows from people who noted modern English is not quite a thousand years old, but that is a separate conversation.
The lesson here is pretty simple. If you are an elected official in the United States government, and a major international sporting event is happening, and your country has a team in it, just wear the American jersey. You can privately root for whoever you want. You can think Mexico's kits look cooler. You can even own the jersey. Just maybe don't post it online while your actual constituents are watching Team USA play. This is not complicated political strategy. This is just common sense, which apparently they do not teach at astronaut school.
Read more American news stories at: The American Tribune
