‘Call of Duty Doesn’t Count’: GOP Senator Who Never Served in Military Shredded for Comments About ‘Smell’ of War

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) was vociferously mocked Monday for comments he made about the “smell” of war despite never serving in the military, much less combat, himself.

Mullin was on Monday’s episode of America Reports to discuss with anchor John Roberts the latest developments with the U.S. military operations in Iran, including the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

During the interview, Mullin praised President Donald Trump, calling him “the first president in 47 years to actually have a backbone to do something” about the situation in Iran.

“When the president came out and he talked to the American people, he was very resolved and direct on what we could expect,” Mullin continued, and then spoke about the horrors of war:

War is ugly. It smells bad. And if anybody has ever been there and been able to smell 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. And it’s ugly.

And fortunately you have President Hegseth — err, I said President Hegseth, Secretary Hegseth — that is got a great relationship with President Trump and President Hegseth’s been there. He’s done that.

Video clips of Mullin’s comments drew swift ridicule, not just for his slip-up erroneously referring to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as the president, but for his graphic description of war when he had not personally served in combat or in any of the military branches at all. One person called his remarks “very stolen-valor adjacent.”

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), a West Point graduate and Army intelligence officer who served two combat tours in Iraq, posted a scathing tweet asking Mullin “what the actual f*ck are you talking about?”

“Did I miss the part of your bio where you served in combat (or served in uniform at all??),” he added. “Call of Duty doesn’t count.”

Multiple commenters also shared images of Mullin taking shelter in the Senate chambers during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

A sampling of additional reactions is below.

Mullin, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, made additional errors in another television hit Monday, this time on CNN. As noted by Yashar Ali, Mullin made numerous mistakes about the identity of Iran’s leaders over the years and their opinions about nuclear weapons.

Wrote Ali:

WOW.

US Senator Markwayne Mullin, who serves on the Armed Services Committee, believes that Ayatollah Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has been the Supreme Leader since 1979.

He also believes that Ayatollah Khomeini (the founder of the Islamic Republic and the first Supreme Leader) came into power saying he wanted a nuclear Iran.

That is false.

In fact, he was very skeptical of nuclear ambitions.

It wasn’t until years later that the Islamic Republic became interested in pursuing nuclear enrichment.

Watch the clip above via Fox News.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!