Markwayne Mullin Already Has A Few Dings In His Reputation

As we know in MAGA, one day you're in, and the next day, you're out — let's face it, none of us were especially surprised by Kristi Noem's DHS departure, following months of raging resignation rumors. And yet, while her successor might not have generated quite as many headlines (yet), Markwayne Mullin still has a dodgy reputation. From sticking his fingers up people's noses (you read that right), to head-scratching comments about war, there's lots to unpack about the Trump staffer. In November 2023, Politico ran a rather bizarre story about Mullin's inappropriate behavior, and not with unnamed sources either, mind. 

Far from it; they quoted Former Michigan Congressman David Trott as contacting them to say, "My wife and I have a story about Senator Mullin if you're interested." Talk about tea. Kathleen Trott then recounted, on the record, Mullin's excavation exploits. Essentially, they were on an AIPAC trip to Israel, and had already faced a ton of delays. That meant exhaustion all round, with some people starting to doze off on the bus ride to the first stop on their itinerary. "People were kind of leaning on their spouse's shoulder and falling asleep," she recalled. 

Enter, Mullin. "This idiot starts walking up and down the bus with his camera and anyone who fell asleep, he would put his finger in their nose and take a picture," Kathleen said. Unsurprisingly, not everyone was amused. In fact, "There were a couple of women who were mad [...] You're trying to fall asleep, somebody you don't know has his finger [...] It was just middle school." Neither the Oklahoma senator nor his team responded to Politico's questions about the situation, and TBH, that may have been a wise move on their part.

Markwayne Mullin isn't just sticking his finger up people's noses; he's also taken his olfactory obsession to new heights by claiming to have smelled war first hand. During a 2026 appearance on Fox News, he declared, "War is ugly, and it smells bad, and if anybody's ever been there and been able to smell the [...] the war that's happening around you and taste it and feel it in your nostrils, and hear it, it's something that you'll never forget." The Oklahoma senator then clumsily shifted attention to Pete Hegseth, who actually was in the military. Unfortunately, Mullin's comments were (understandably) taken by many to mean he was a veteran. 

As he clarified on "The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show" soon after, "I did special assignments outside of the DoD, now DoW [...] I never wore the uniform or the flag on my, on my shoulder." That seemed to be the end of it until Senator Gary Peters asked Mullin during his Secretary of Homeland Security confirmation hearing, "When did you smell war?" (via the Detroit Free Press). He replied that the information was classified, prompting a ton of YouTube commenters to poke fun at Mullin. One even brought Noem into it, invoking her infamous puppy scandal. 

"Our choices [...] Dog killer lady or stolen valor guy" they lamented. (W)oof. It's worth noting that despite heavy criticism — fellow senator Rand Paul also called Mullin out for claiming he'd told him that he deserved his 2017 attack, which Mullin maintained he did — several politicians have vouched for him. Notably, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman confirmed, "My experience with you has been consistent kindness and professionalism," (via YouTube). Something tells us Mullin never tried to stick his finger up Fetterman's nose.