Sen. Mark Kelly talks about what comes next after moment in Harris VP spotlight

PHOENIX - After the “interesting” consideration as the Democrats’ vice-presidential nominee, Sen. Mark Kelly said he remains solidly behind his party’s new ticket , committed to his job in the Senate and revolted by former President Donald Trump.

Speaking to The Arizona Republic, a USA TODAY Network partner, in his Phoenix office on Tuesday, Kelly, D-Ariz., pledged his support for Democrats in Arizona and around the country while he remains engaged on global hot spots that could impact U.S. interests.

A week after he learned he would not be Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ VP pick, Kelly had little to say about the process he was pulled into or what it was like to be a finalist for the campaign role — or any other job working with Harris.

“I was honored and flattered to be considered,” Kelly said of the experience. “The last month’s been interesting and busy, but it’s great to be back here.”

Asked if he would consider joining a Harris administration — if there is one — Kelly said, “It’s not something I’ve given any thought to.”

“My focus is going to be to do my job as a United States senator to the best of my ability and I am focused on that today, tomorrow and I’ll be focused on that after the election," he said.

While Kelly won’t be on the presidential ticket, he expects to remain active on the campaign trail, for Harris and Senate races across the country.

“I think you’re going to see more folks move in her direction. My expectation is she’s going to win Arizona. She’s going to win some other states that just a couple months ago we thought were not going to be competitive. I think she’s going to beat Donald Trump by a lot.”

Kelly said he will look to help Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., win the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. Kelly has been an outspoken critic of Gallego’s Republican opponent , Kari Lake, deriding her as an election denier and a threat to democracy.

He has already been to six other states where there are Senate races and hopes to do so again before the election. On Tuesday, Kelly announced his endorsement of Democrats in 19 legislative races in Arizona as part of his effort to give Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs a Legislature “she can work with.”

He was characteristically blunt about Trump and America’s military interests, especially in contrast to Harris and President Joe Biden.

Trump “is a guy who congratulated (Russian President Vladimir) Putin like a week ago, two weeks ago,” Kelly said, referring to the multination trade of prisoners that included two Americans and a woman with dual U.S.-Russian citizenship who were held in Russian prisons on charges the U.S. considered pretextual.

“I’d like to congratulate Vladimir Putin for having made yet another great deal. Did you see the deal we made?” Trump said at an Aug. 3 campaign rally in Atlanta after the prisoners were released. “We got our people back, but boy we make some horrible, horrible deals.”

Kelly couldn’t contain his disgust with Trump’s words and linked the detainment of the Americans to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“He is congratulating an autocrat who illegally attacked one of our allies and is murdering — intentionally murdering — children inside Ukraine and kidnapping inside Ukraine. And Donald Trump congratulates him. I’ve never seen anything like this historically from an American president or former president.”

Kelly said Harris will not side with authoritarians and she will have to make clear her view of U.S. foreign relations around the globe. But she will remain a stark contrast with Trump, Kelly said.

“He for some reason feels this weird, odd connection with folks around the world, leaders who not only oppress their own people, but attack their neighbors,” Kelly said.

While Kelly wouldn’t detail the vetting process, others have sketched out at least part of why Harris may have chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Kelly and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro .

Even before Harris made her pick known , her campaign had signaled an interest in someone with executive experience. Kelly’s only experience in politics is his current role as a senator.

Also, Harris has good relations with labor unions and Kelly was slow to show support for a bill viewed as their top legislative priority.

The left-leaning Nation magazine recently noted one of Harris’ tasks for President Joe Biden was chairing a labor-related task force whose work led to rule changes intended to make organizing easier.

Shapiro, meanwhile, may have signaled qualms about leaving his current post, seeking clarity about his role as VP, Politico reported.

Kelly called Walz “a good friend of mine and a really good friend” to Kelly’s wife, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. “I think he’s an excellent choice,” Kelly said.

He was still impressed by the 15,000 people who showed up to see Harris and Walz in Glendale on Friday.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, politically. The amount of energy?” he said. “It wasn’t like playing the sport at the higher level. It was like an entirely different sport.

“It is freaking the former president out, to the point where he is having to lie about the number of people she has on a tarmac in Detroit. It’s got him rattled, and it should.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sen. Mark Kelly talks about what comes next after moment in Harris VP spotlight