The Wingman
PoliticsThe WingmanMark Kelly’s résumé and the goodwill he’s accrued as Gabby Giffords’s spouse have granted him a high level of admiration. Can it translate to excitement for a presidential campaign?By Mark LeibovichPhotographs by Philip CheungJuly 20, 2026, 9 AM ET ShareSave “My wife, Gabby, was shot in the head.”Obviously, I knew this. Senator Mark Kelly’s wife, the former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was shot in the head and grievously wounded in a mass shooting outside a Tucson Safeway in 2011.
- ▪PoliticsThe WingmanMark Kelly’s résumé and the goodwill he’s accrued as Gabby Giffords’s spouse have granted him a high level of admiration.
- ▪Can it translate to excitement for a presidential campaign?By Mark LeibovichPhotographs by Philip CheungJuly 20, 2026, 9 AM ET ShareSave “My wife, Gabby, was shot in the head.”Obviously, I knew this.
- ▪Senator Mark Kelly’s wife, the former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was shot in the head and grievously wounded in a mass shooting outside a Tucson Safeway in 2011.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
PoliticsThe WingmanMark Kelly’s résumé and the goodwill he’s accrued as Gabby Giffords’s spouse have granted him a high level of admiration. Can it translate to excitement for a presidential campaign?By Mark LeibovichPhotographs by Philip CheungJuly 20, 2026, 9 AM ET ShareSave “My wife, Gabby, was shot in the head.”Obviously, I knew this. Senator Mark Kelly’s wife, the former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was shot in the head and grievously wounded in a mass shooting outside a Tucson Safeway in 2011. It was one of the most notorious acts of political violence in America.In several recent conversations with Kelly, however, I was struck by how often and how bluntly he repeated these exact words.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Atlantic.
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