Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma was sworn in as the head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday, replacing Kristi Noem. Amid this, an old clip of his has surfaced where he speaks about beating his children.
The video is from 2023, as per MediasTouch, which described itself as doing “pro-democracy” journalism.
What did Markwayne Mullin say in the videos?
Mullin was heard saying in one of the clips, “We must be willing to discipline our kids too. …I was raised by the fear of a belt. …The discipline was just, wasn’t overreacted. …So I learned respect from the discipline.”
Mullin was speaking on October 6, 2023 at a church-hosted “City Elders” event.
He went on to say “My two beautiful twins that are sitting down there. Guys, I tell you right now, I do spank. I have no problem with that.” Mullin added “I can spank them and I’m still upset and they’ll come and crawl in my lap two minutes later and just hug on me. I’ve got to learn how to forgive more.”
Imitating his daughter, Larra, Mullin said “She’s like, ‘No, Daddy. No, Daddy, No, Daddy, No. I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m sorry, Daddy.’ …She just couldn’t bring herself to even bend over for me to be able to bust her butt.”
He said of his son “Andrew, boy, that boy didn’t want to ever do anything wrong. And he was the hardest kid ever I had to spank because he was so hard on himself because he would just have this huge crocodile tear running down his eyes.”
Mullin’s reported clips put focus on his family. Here’s all you need to know about Markwayne Mullin’s wife, children, and family.
Markwayne Mullin: Wife, children and family
Mullin is married to Christie Mullin for 28 years. They have six children together – Jayce, Jim, Andrew, Larra, Ivy, and Lynette.
His son, Jim, suffered a severe brain injury during a high school wrestling match, which actually led to President Donald Trump’s closeness with Mullin, as per Associated Press. Trump picked Mullin as Noem’s successor.
After Jim’s accident in 2020, Trump had invited both Mullin and his son on stage at a rally the next year. He had asked Jim to then sit on his lap and heard about his rehabilitation. Trump reportedly also offered to fly in medical specialists and pay for his treatments.
Markwayne Mullin and Cherokee Nation
Markwayne Mullin is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. However, as per a report from High Country News by a fellow Cherokee Nation member, Mullin is also ‘white-passing’.
‘White passing’ is ‘when a person of color belonging to a marginalized community “passes” to identify as white, allowing them to have access to a certain amount of white privilege,’ a student newspaper report from Queen’s University described.
“The Cherokee Nation has never required a minimum blood quantum for tribal membership, and as a result we are the largest tribe in the country. That means we also have the largest diaspora, as well as the widest spectrum of political, cultural and racial identities.” Mullin has been described as an ‘ultra conservative, white-passing’ member of the Cherokee Nation in the report.
