Sen. Mark Kelly delivered a brutal assessment of Donald Trump’s handling of the war with Iran Sunday, arguing that the president plunged the United States into the conflict without figuring out how he intended to get back out.
“The president got into this without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline, without an exit strategy,” Kelly told ABC’s Martha Raddatz.
Then he summed up his assessment in two words:
“He’s stuck.”
(Watch the video below)
Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, retired Navy combat pilot and former astronaut, made the comments during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” as questions continue to mount over how — and when — the United States can bring the conflict to an end.
Raddatz put the dilemma directly to him.
The United States is already in the war. Iran cannot simply be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz. So what exactly should Trump do now?
Kelly argued that the first thing the administration needs is experienced people at the negotiating table.
And he wasn’t particularly impressed with the team Trump has chosen.
“He’s got his son-in-law trying to negotiate this with his golf and real estate buddy,” Kelly said.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and longtime friend Steve Witkoff have played prominent roles in the administration’s diplomatic efforts.
Kelly argued that Trump should instead bring in “professionals who understand the Iranians and know how to negotiate with them.”
The senator was also clear about what he believes any eventual agreement must accomplish.
Iran, he said, cannot be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz.
Nor can Tehran be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
But Kelly argued that Trump is now struggling to recreate conditions that existed before the war began.
“I think what the president would love to do is get back to where he was before he started this thing,” Kelly said.
According to Kelly, before the war the Strait was open and the United States had not suffered the military casualties it has since the fighting began.
He pointed to more than 20 U.S. service members killed and more than 800 injured during the conflict.
“This thing has been a disaster, and it’s been a mistake,” Kelly said.
He blamed what he described as Trump’s “failed leadership.”
Raddatz then asked Kelly about Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s claim that most American military bases in the region had been rendered unusable.
Here Kelly actually pushed back on Iran.
“I don’t think that’s accurate,” he said.
Several U.S. bases have been struck and some have sustained significant damage, Kelly acknowledged, but he rejected Tehran’s broader characterization.
Then he turned to the price tag.
“If you add up all the costs in military equipment, buildings, weapons used, we are probably in excess of $40 billion at this point with no end in sight,” Kelly said.
That figure was Kelly’s estimate during the interview, but separate reporting suggests the overall cost is indeed enormous.
CNN previously reported that the Pentagon told Congress the war had cost approximately $43.6 billion through September 3, plus another $1.5 billion in additional fuel costs — and officials cautioned that even that wasn’t a complete accounting.
Kelly’s broader argument was straightforward.
He isn’t advocating simply abandoning the Strait.
He isn’t arguing that Iran should be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
And when Raddatz repeated an Iranian claim about American bases, he explicitly rejected it.
His criticism is about how Trump got the United States here in the first place — and whether the administration had a clearly defined destination before entering the war.
No strategic goal.
No plan.
No timeline.
No exit strategy.
And in Kelly’s assessment, the consequence is simple:
“He’s stuck.”
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