GOP senator says he was joking about using violence against journalists

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) suggested in a video posted over the weekend that a lot "less false stories" would be written by journalists if they got into physical altercations with politicians.

Mullin later said he was joking after The Oklahoman wrote a story about his remarks.

"Thanks for watching my videos. Imagine being a newspaper *this* out of touch with Oklahoma," he wrote on social platform X, sharing a picture of a map of the state with every county shaded red.

In the video, which was posted Saturday, the Oklahoma Republican told the story about Charles Kincaid, a reporter who shot former Rep. William Talubee (D-Ky.) in 1890.

The two had a "volatile history" that started after Kincaid wrote a story about Taulbee having an affair, according to the History, Art and Archives page of the House of Representatives' website. Taulbee decided not to run for re-election but became a lobbyist, so the two kept crossing paths and trading insults.

Once, when the late lawmaker was on the House floor, he got into an "altercation" with the reporter, Mullin said. Taulbee had thrown Kincaid around by the collar, according to NPR. Kincaid went home and returned with a pistol, ultimately shooting and killing Taulbee.

"There's a lot we could say about reporters and the stories they write, but I bet they'd write a lot less false stories, or as President Trump says 'fake news' if we could handle our differences that way," Mullin said.

Responding to The Oklahoman's article Sunday on X, Mullin wrote, "While you’re at it, don’t forget I also JOKED about bringing back caning to settle political disputes."

Back in 2023, Mullin challenged Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to a fight during a Senate Health Committee hearing.

He later said on "NewsMax" that "you used to be able to cane."