MAGA-aligned U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, appeared on Fox News last week to defend President Trump’s decision to attack Iran, and said: “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 fill it in your nostrils and hear it, it’s something that you’ll never forget.”
Mullin, who has never served in the U.S. military, was slammed by veterans including U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), a retired Captain in the U.S. Army who served in the Iraq War, who replied: “Hey @SenMullin, what the actual [expletive] are you talking about? Did I miss the part of your bio where you served in combat (or served in uniform at all??). Call of Duty doesn’t count.”
Mullin: War is ugly. It smells bad. If anybody has ever been there and been able to smell the war and taste it and fill it in your nostrils and hear it, it’s something that you’ll never forget. Fortunately, we have President Hegseth. President Hegseth has been there. pic.twitter.com/9bWtlXOjqy
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 2, 2026
On Friday, after President Trump said he would nominate Mullin to replace Kristi Noem as the Secretary of Homeland Security, Ryan again trolled Mullin for saying he “did special operations outside of the DOD,” and that while he admitted that he “never wore the uniform or the flag… I got to work alongside of those guys, and they’re phenomenal individuals.”
Ryan responded, “Really looking forward to hearing about these ‘special assignments’ during @SenMullin’s confirmation hearing! No way he is totally lying about that too, right?”
Really looking forward to hearing about these “special assignments” during @SenMullin’s confirmation hearing!
No way he is totally lying about that too, right? pic.twitter.com/JQVkhDEs9k
— Pat Ryan
(@PatRyanUC) March 7, 2026