The war of words between Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Teamsters President Sean O’Brien doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon.
On Thursday, O’Brien was asked on Fox News about Mullin threatening to fight him during a committee hearing and the senator’s subsequent comments, including his suggestion that Congress bring back duels and canings.
“It was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen,” O’Brien said on Your World With Neil Cavuto, “because first he says we’re ‘consenting adults,’ which was bizarre because it sounded like he wanted to date me. Then he asked to fight me, and I’m hearing now he wanted to bite me. And then the last post he made was in front of a cache of automatic weapons where he says ‘anytime, anyplace.’”
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“So make up your mind,” O’Brien said. “Do you want to date me, fight me, bite me or shoot me? It’s crazy.”
On Wednesday, Mullin said on the Undaunted podcast that he will “100 percent” bite whoever challenges him to a fight in Congress. (He later claimed to be joking.)
The social media post O’Brien apparently referenced was Mullin’s response to an invitation to appear on a separate podcast rather than a challenge to O’Brien directly.
Nevertheless, O’Brien told anchor Neil Cavuto that Mullin “has issues that he probably should be dealing with.”
“My issue is dealing with how we improve America, how we work together, and how we move forward from our differences,” O’Brien said.
Cavuto then mentioned certain tweets of O’Brien’s, including one in June in which he called Mullin, who took over his father’s plumbing business when he was 20, a “greedy CEO who pretends like he’s self made.” O’Brien said he didn’t regret those posts, claiming it was Mullin who initiated things between the two.
“My first interaction with Senator Mullin—at my first hearing—he attacked me personally regarding my salary, what value I bring to working people. He actually came at me first,” he said.
“He made up this story about how he came from nothing. He was harboring resentment from another union that picketed his business,” O’Brien said.
It’s unclear if O’Brien is referring to Mullin Plumbing or one of what Mullin’s biography describes as “numerous other successful companies ranging from Mullin Environmental to Rowan’s Steakhouse.”
“Clearly the guy needs to act accordingly,” O’Brien continued. “He’s a U.S. senator. He’s one of the most 100 powerful people in this country that actually could effectuate change, and he behaves like a 12-year-old in the school yard.”
Cavuto seemed to take an interest in what the head-to-head matchup between O’Brien and Mullin would have looked like.
“You’re dealing with a senator who’s a former college wrestler. He has a 5-0 record as a mixed martial arts fighter. Did you think for a second this guy could kick my butt?” he asked.
“No, I don’t think that at all. Look, I have a couple game balls in high school playing football and that’s not on my resume,” O’Brien said mildly.
“And you were captain of your football team as well, so you were no slouch,” Cavuto added.
“Yeah,” O’Brian continued, appearing to still want to get under Mullin’s skin. “If you look at his opponents, I mean, most of them had losing records and everything else, and I don’t want to get into that stuff.”
After a light scolding by Cavuto, O’Brien concluded that “our glory days are behind us and we should focus on doing our jobs.”
