Markwayne Mullin is a liar and a fabulist. He said this a couple of weeks ago:
“War is ugly. It smells bad. If anybody has ever been there and been able to smell the war that’s happening around you, and taste it, and feel it in your nostrils and hear it, it’s something you will never forget.”
Markwayne has never been to war. He’s never even been in the military. When asked about it he says as a Senator he was sent on classified missions which he can’t talk about.
This is what he said today in his confirmation hearing:
Mullin’s recent comments about his experiences with war prompted a round of fact checking, including a definitive piece from Poynter which noted the remark “could have been a reference” to an incident in 2021 when Mullin, who was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives at the time, attempted to enter Afghanistan to perform a rescue mission amid the American military’s chaotic departure from the country. Based on his own statements about the trip, Mullin never actually made it on the ground. His office did not respond to Poynter’s questions about what “special assignments” he was involved in.
If you thought Tommy Tuberville was a brain dead clown, get ready for Markwayne. Stephen Miller could have a duller tool.
By the way, his claims of being a UFC fighting champion are also … overblown:
Mullin’s biography on the site touts him as “a former Mixed Martial Arts fighter with a professional record of 5-0” and a “fighter for America First.” Mullin’s site also touts the fact he “was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016.” His biography on that organization’s website largely cites his political and business achievements while noting that a “recurring shoulder injury” ensured he only “wrestled briefly at Missouri Valley College” after practicing the sport in high school.
Along with featuring his identity as a “fighter” in campaign materials, in 2023, Mullin brought his pugilism to the Senate floor when he stood and challenged a union leader to a fight during a hearing. The exchange prompted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to urge the two men to sit down.
Mullin does indeed have a record in the ring. Multiple MMA databases identify Mullin as having an undefeated 3-0 record. TPM asked Mullin’s office and the White House if they could provide a source for his claim of a 5-0 record. They did not immediately respond to that request.
On March 12, Mullin’s MMA career was the subject of scrutiny on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, produced by The Athletic. The show’s host, award winning sports reporter Pablo Torre, and his guests, comedian Wyatt Cenac and political commentator Tim Miller, took note of the discrepancy in Mullin’s record.
[…]
The show also delved into the details of Mullin’s three documented victories. One came in 2006 against a man named Bobby “Huggie Bear” Kelley, who, at the time was 18 years old. Mullin was 29 years old…
Mullin’s two other documented professional victories came in 2007 against a man named Clinton Bonds. According to MMA databases, Bonds’ record includes just one win and 11 losses. While TPM was unable to reach Bonds for comment, we did find footage of him participating in a boxing match from around the time he battled Mullin. The video shows Bonds losing while eating a slew of punches and falling to the ground repeatedly.
All of Mullin’s documented MMA bouts came in 2006 and 2007 in the XTreme Fighting League, an Oklahoma-based promotion that often featured amateur fighters making their professional debut. The years when Mullin fought were also a time when MMA was far less competitive and popular than it is today. On the podcast, Miller questioned the quality of Mullin’s competitions.
“He’s 3-0 in what appears to me to be like a semipro MMA league. … It’s based in Tulsa,” Miller said. “It kind of feels like somebody playing in the company softball league, winning three championships, and then running for the Senate, and being like, ‘I am the first senator who was a softball champion.’”
Such a perfect Trumper: dumb, dishonest and delusional.