The following is the transcript of an interview with Sen. Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on March 2, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Senator Mark Kelly in Tucson, Arizona. Good morning to you, Senator.
SEN. KELLY: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You were one of the lawmakers who met with President Zelensky prior to that Oval Office meltdown. Senator Lindsey Graham later told reporters he had warned Zelensky, “don’t take the bait.” Do you think Zelensky took the bait? Is that how you understand what happened?
SEN. MARK KELLY: He was cornered and he was bullied in the Oval Office. And Margaret, that just makes us look weak. You know, I think Donald Trump was trying to look tough. JD Vance was trying to look tough. The only winner in that exchange is Putin- who’s a criminal, who’s killing, you know, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. So, it was a sad day for our country. It was a dumpster fire of diplomacy. It should not have been done that kind of negotiation should not be done in public, in front of cameras. When we had our meeting earlier in the day with Zelensky. He- he, you know, he has this like habitual gratitude. He was very thankful, and the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee kicked the cameras out of the room before we started to talk. That’s the way this should be handled, not what- not what Donald Trump did.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the Treasury Secretary, who was just with us, said, you can’t get an economic deal without a peace deal first. So it seems the dynamic is changing in terms of what the Trump administration is putting forward here. What was your understanding of what Volodymyr Zelensky’s concerns were?
SEN. KELLY: Well, I mean, his concern is that he doesn’t have a security guarantee, and he’s being asked to give up minerals- that this is a business deal. Margaret, we’re about to celebrate our 250th birthday as a country, and I didn’t think we were just in it for- for the money. I mean, we are a country of values and principles. We stand with our allies. He needs security guarantees. Yeah, I understand this concept of economic deal and a ceasefire, but the economic deal comes after the ceasefire. None of that makes sense. They need to get in a room- including with the Russians. I mean, have the Russians given any indication that they want peace? Our Treasury Secretary questioned whether Zelensky wants peace. Of course he does. He has his population being murdered, raped- children are kidnapped. He wants out of this situation, but he- he is having a hard time, obviously, negotiating this in public, by the way. I mean, his English is not the best, so this is hard for him. To corner him in the Oval Office on that kind of stage was wrong and it makes us look weaker as a nation- and it makes us less safe.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You’ve been to Ukraine a number of times. Our last guest, Mike Turner, has been to Ukraine a number of times as well. Neither the president nor the Vice President have at all. JD Vance, the Vice President, said to Zelensky, those are propaganda tours. Is that what you did? Did- did you go on propaganda tours?
SEN. KELLY: No, I mean, I went into Patriot batteries and- you know, talked to the troops that every night are defending themselves from incoming ballistic missiles and cruise missiles trying to keep their population alive. I met with soldiers, you know, some of which are, you know, amputees at this point, who just- and soldiers that just came from the front lines to talk to me in person about what the situation on the ground is. I met with pilots there who were about to get their F-16s and we talked specifically about, you know, how can you use this airplane in combat?
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.
SEN. KELLY: I think JD Vance, the Vice President, with all due respect. It sounds like he’s watching videos on the internet. And to say to Zelensky, you’re not being thankful enough, I mean- Zelensky, thanks the American people all the time-
MARGARET BRENNAN: — Yeah–
SEN. KELLY: — And I got to say, Margaret, if- if we can end this, and I want this to end as much as anybody, but it has to end in a way that the Russians are going to respect. And what was in the Oval Office yesterday was a demonstration of weakness. And I could tell you, Putin does not respect weakness.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about the US border, the number of migrants crossing the southern border illegally in President Trump’s first full term and first full month in office, plunged to a level we haven’t seen in 25 years. This is according to data reviewed by CBS. This seems like this is good for your state. Do these numbers prove President Trump’s theory is right?
SEN. KELLY: Well, I think the numbers being down, that’s a good thing. What we need long term is a negotiation with the Republicans on long standing border policy. What the administration is doing- especially with ICE raids in schools, with flying- repatriating people who often aren’t only criminals in military airplanes for intimidation, talking about housing people on Guantanamo. That’s for intimidation. I am- it’s good the numbers are down. That’s a positive thing-
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.
SEN. KELLY: We need- we need a border security agreement. We need legislation. We also need immigration reform. Talk about my state for a second. We’ve got a lot of Dreamers. They deserve a pathway to citizenship. We need some- we need a plan for farm workers as well.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Secretary of Defense Hegseth is sending another 3,000 troops to the border, including an aviation battalion and Stryker vehicle, CBS has confirmed. Now, these soldiers aren’t allowed to intercept migrants. Do you understand the mission, the intent? You have oversight over armed services, so I wonder how you feel about this.
SEN. KELLY: Well, I don’t feel good about it. The way this should be handled is- if we could work together within the United States Senate, Democrats and Republicans, get the Border Patrol more money, hire more Border Patrol agents, give them more resources to do the job they’re supposed to do. When you do it with troops, that affects their readiness. This isn’t what they’re trained to do. Then they don’t get to train to do- that Stryker battalion doesn’t get to train to do the job that they need- may need to do one day. I don’t want to see us in a conflict around the world anywhere. But what prevents that is for our allies to realize that they’re not going to win in a fight and when they see us doing things like this, police actions with the military, that also is showing the rest of the world that our military is less capable and we are weaker. And that affects everybody’s safety.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Lastly, because you sit on the Intelligence Committee, I want to ask you about something President Zelensky said. He said in Munich, Ukraine has intel the Russians are sending troops to Belarus to use it as a launch pad militarily into, perhaps not just Ukraine, but other European countries. Are you concerned about that?
SEN. KELLY: Well, I am very concerned about what Putin will do next, if he- if he comes out of this and thinks he got a good deal and this was worth his time and effort and loss of life. He doesn’t care about Russian soldiers. He obviously doesn’t care about the Ukrainians. Yeah, that would be very concerning for me. I was in the Baltic nations, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, earlier this year. They are very concerned that would be a staging ground for them to attack the Baltics.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Understood. That’s why we’re watching it so carefully. Senator Kelly, I appreciate your insight.
