April Editorial Winner

Mullin's 'joking' threats are no laughing matter

By Kim Poindexter, Tahlequah Daily Press

Anyone who has been in the presence of Sen. Markwayne Mullin – like the journalists he “jokingly” threatened a few days ago – may be reminded of a banty rooster, crowing and strutting in a hen yard, and praying the bigger, tougher Rhode Island Red won’t come flapping his way.

Mullin’s latest round of blustering came over the weekend via a video on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He suggested journalists might produce “less false stories” – technically, “fewer” is the right word, not “less” – if the violence used back in the day to settle differences returned to the fore.

The video was shot in the U.S. Capitol – the same building where in a now-famous photo, Mullin is seen cowering between rows of seats as the rioters of Jan. 6, 2021, rained down terror on the hapless occupants. Mullin could hardly be blamed for going to ground, if it weren’t for the fact that he wastes so much oxygen with bloviating threats against anyone who offends him.

In this case, Mullin got his metaphor backward; he was referring to a reporter who shot and killed Rep. William Taulbee in that same locale in 1890. “There’s a lot we can say about reporters of the stories they write, but I bet they would write a lot less false stories – as President Trump says, ‘fake news’ – if we could still handle our differences that way,” the senator said.

Of course, he was joking, he insisted after The Oklahoman report-ed on his puerile quip, similar to his earlier crack about using a cane to handle political disputes. He went on to lambast the newspaper as out of touch with this ruby red state – although The Oklahoman has long been known as a purveyor of conservative views. Perhaps Mullin doesn’t actually read The Oklahoman – assuming he can and does read, instead of simply being told by his staff what’s been written about him.

Even setting aside the Jan. 6 incident, Mullin’s swagger doesn’t quite mesh with past behavior. Tahlequah residents will remember an episode from several years back, when he was still in the House. He was scheduled to speak at a town hall at the Cherokee Nation venue, The Place Where They Play. But then-Chief Bill John Baker declined Mullin’s request to tell audience members they couldn’t hold up small red cards every time the congressman uttered a perceived lie. Baker said he wouldn’t deny freedom of expression to tribal citizens, or any-one else, so Mullin refused to speak. Evidently, he was intimidated by a handful of folks who described themselves as “little old ladies.”

But then again, Mullin is a successful former MMA fighter who tried to brawl in 2023 with the Teamsters president, telling him to “stand your butt up,” presumably so he could kick it. Later, he ranted on about the canings, saying Andrew Jackson had “challenged nine people to a duel... and he also knocked one guy out at a White House dinner. There’s been canings before in the Senate.” Actually, the phrase should be “There have been canings,” but that’s beside the point.

Perhaps the point is that Mullin is just an Okie, like the rest of us – unless he’s a Texican or a Floridian or something else – and he defines his constituents in a certain way. Mullin dubbed the spectacle involving the Teamster a show of “Oklahoma values.” Perhaps bullying journalists is another Okie trait, but that’s questionable. Sooner State journalists are Okies, too, and some of them have been known to square off against politicians or others who threaten them or their families. Sometimes, those journalists are packing heat.

If Mullin is feeling froggy, his targets might ask him how high he’s prepared to jump. More likely, they’ll bide their time and see how those Okie values play out when he has to run for reelection. Even in a state that’s solidly behind President Trump, Mullin might be surprised.