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Senator Mark Kelly is the senior United States senator from Arizona and a recipient of the Renew Democracy Initiative’s 2026 Heroes of Democracy Award.
Last month, the Renew Democracy Initiative, which publishes The Next Move, honored Senator Mark Kelly with the Heroes of Democracy Award, which recognizes people who have taken risks and made sacrifices for freedom. Now, we’re pleased to share Senator Kelly’s remarks from the RDI Heroes of Democracy Gala:
Thank you, Garry. Thank you, everybody.
Good evening, folks. I’ve never been in this room before. This is something.
I want to really thank the Renewed Democracy Initiative for the honor, and also for the work that all of you do every day to promote freedom, and fighting for all of those folks fighting for freedom around the world.
It’s really a privilege to be recognized along with so many individuals who have stood up, often at great personal risk, to speak the truth and to demand freedom.
Those of you who know me know that I never expected to be here. I’m the son of two cops. I didn’t grow up very far from here, in New Jersey. I went to public school. I became a Navy pilot, and then a test pilot, and then an astronaut.
And in my family, my wife, Gabby Giffords, was the member of Congress. And I sometimes think to myself, “If I was the person who would’ve been injured, would Gabby have become an astronaut?”
She says yes.
But on January 8, 2011, our lives changed forever. She was shot while meeting with her constituents in Tucson, Arizona, at a grocery store on a Saturday morning. And because of that, we both left the jobs we loved.
But I love this country, and I felt an obligation to continue to serve, but just in a different way. I think about that sense of service a lot, especially because I now sit in the Senate seat once held by John McCain.
John McCain was a hero of mine from my very first days in the United States Navy, even before that, a guy who served his country so honorably under the hardest of circumstances.
And he was a hero of freedom-loving people across the globe. He stood on that stage in Independence Square in Kyiv in 2013, alongside Ukrainian opposition leaders who were pushing for democratic reforms. He understood that fundamentally, human beings deserve the right to choose their own future, and his legacy will never be matched.
I don’t even pretend to compete, but it challenges us every day to live up to the example that John McCain set for all of us because America can do amazing things when we are at our best.
A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to watch Artemis II travel further from Earth than any human beings have ever gone before—and faster.
It is an incredible achievement that only can happen here in the United States of America when all of us work together. That kind of country is worth protecting because not every country gets to do that.
Around the world, we’re seeing authoritarian governments operate in a very different way. They’re making people distrust each other and lose faith in their own system.
And we have to be honest, those pressures aren’t just happening somewhere else. They’re happening here at home as well. We’re seeing challenges to fundamental constitutional norms and rights like the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, and the ability to hold leaders accountable without the fear of retaliation.
Learn more about the RDI Heroes of Democracy Awards Gala:
A few months ago, I released a video with a simple message. You saw it up there. I was actually wearing the same shirt. (I do have another shirt.)
But it was a simple message that service members must refuse illegal orders. That’s not controversial. It’s actually the law, and in our country, everyone must follow the law.
Well, Donald Trump didn’t like it. He called for me to be hanged, executed, prosecuted. The guy couldn’t even get the order right.
By the way, I’m pretty sure that was the first time that a president of the United States in 250 years called for a member of Congress to be executed. I mean, if it wasn’t serious, it would be kind of funny. But that should send a chill down the spine of every freedom-loving American, and every person around the world who looks to this country, to the United States, as a beacon of freedom.
And later, the secretary of defense... Let me say that again. The secretary of defense. The guy doesn’t get to change the name. He censured me, and now he’s trying to reduce me in rank, take away my pension after 25 years of service.
If this president and the yes people around him thought that they could intimidate me, I’ll tell you what, they picked the wrong guy. So I fought back and I sued him, specifically Pete Hegseth.
But this was never about me. This is about all Americans. It’s about all of us. They wanted to send a message to anyone thinking about speaking up that you better shut your mouth or else.
But it’s not going to work, ‘cause that’s not how this country works, and that’s not in the Constitution, a document I swore an oath to protect and defend.
There’s nothing more fundamental in our democracy than the freedom to speak out about our government. It’s actually a feature. It’s the right that guarantees all others, and that’s what I’m fighting for.
And it’s why the work of organizations like the Renew Democracy Initiative and the courage of dissidents around the world matters so much. You are defending something that is fragile and worth protecting.
And Garry, I am so grateful to be in this fight with you. So thank you. Thank you, not just for this recognition—I do appreciate it. What I really want to thank you for is the work that you do every single day to provide hope to people throughout the world.
And as my wife, Gabby, likes to say, “These are challenging times, but together we are up for the challenge.”
Thank you very much, everybody.
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