Not too long after attempting to pick a literal fight with Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien at a Senate committee hearing Tuesday, Sen. Markwayne Mullin appeared on the Oklahoma-based podcast “Undaunted Life: A Man’s Podcast.” And Mullin and the host had this strange exchange about his aggro behavior:
HOST KYLE THOMPSON: Why you should train jiu jitsu is because even if you lose a fight, you want to make sure the other guy will never want to fight you ever again, because it's kind of a win-win at that point. But we need to move from an almost-fight—
MULLIN: And by the way, I'm not afraid of biting. I will bite.
THOMPSON: Biting?
MULLIN: Yeah, if I’m in a fight, I'm going to bite. I'll do anything. I mean, I'm not above it. And I don't care where I bite, by the way. It just is going to be a bite.
THOMPSON: I'm not even going to ask any further questions on that. I think that that basically speaks for itself.
I have some questions, but very few of them have to do with the Oklahoma senator’s fragile masculinity. All of this barking and posturing still does not answer the questions brought up by O’Brien at a Senate hearing back in March, when their feud began. At the time, Mullin claimed his “salary” from his plumbing business (which he sold for tens of millions of dollars a couple of years ago) was only $50,000, and O’Brien responded, “So you hid money.”
As Business Insider reported in March, Mullin’s financial statements told a different story than the BS the senator was slinging during the hearing.
Like many business owners, Mullin's biggest source of income wasn't his salary. He reported between $200,000 and $2 million in income in 2012 from two family companies, Mullin Plumbing Inc. and Mullin Plumbing West, and another $15,000 to $50,000 from shares he held in a bank.
In 2011, Mullin also made well over $50,000. His salary was over $77,000 and his other income from the same two businesses was also over $200,000. He also reported over $50,000 in rent that year from Mullin Properties.
Mullin at least knows how to pick an audience for his weird comment about biting. The “Undaunted” podcast is one of many trying to carve out space in the modern “men’s rights” movement. This right-wing to far-right media ecosystem often attaches itself to mixed martial arts and Christianity (sometimes called “spirituality”), with its various middle-tier hosts trying to do their best to mimic Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, and Steven Crowder. For instance, the website for Thompson’s podcast describes itself this way:
On the show, he tackles hot button issues that most pastors won’t go near; such as the lack of true masculinity in the Church, supposed “toxic” masculinity in culture, how to defeat pro-abortion arguments, wokeness and cancel culture, CRT, the LGBTQ+ cultural revolution, and much more.
And yes, Thompson talks about “working out, or doing jiu-jitsu” when not hanging with his wife and kids. He also sells cigars for $16 a pop (or a little under $300 for a 20-pack). But no worries, they are rolled for a good and manly cause: “It’s more than just a good smoke… These cigars help fund the prevention and rescue of children from sex trafficking.”
Mullin used the show to peacock and pretend to be a hard-working Regular Joe, all for the benefit of men who are having a hard time managing their masculine identities in a world with increasing financial inequalities.
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