Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) claimed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) once cooked up a foul phrase to describe South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) in his latest round of accusations toward the Florida Republican.
“The first time I ever met this guy, he walked up to me and [then-Rep.] Kristi Noem at the time was at the podium… he said, ‘Man, she’s a fine,’ and you can put the B-word in place there,” Mullin told Newsmax just one day after he accused Gaetz of openly detailing his sexual experiences to fellow lawmakers.
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“And I looked at him and said, ‘Really?’ because Kristi is a very close friend of mine, and he turned around and walked away,” Mullin added.
Mullin ― who formerly served in the House ― said that Gaetz approached him and apologized after the remark aimed at the now-governor, who has recently been viewed as a potential vice presidential pick for former President Donald Trump.
“But he still shouldn’t have said it. It was completely out of line, and this is the type of individual Matt Gaetz is,” Mullin said.
His accusations arrive after Gaetz launched a successful bid to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as House speaker this week.
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Mullin, a McCarthy ally, unleashed a number of wild claims in a CNN interview on Wednesday, including one that alleged Gaetz of bragging about crushing “E.D. medicine and [chasing] it with energy drinks so he could go all night.”
Gaetz, in a statement to Forbes on Mullin’s CNN and Newsmax interviews, said he doesn’t think he and Mullin “have said 20 words to each other” on the House floor.
“This is a lie from someone who doesn’t know me and who is coping with the death of the political career of his friend Kevin. Thoughts and prayers,” Gaetz said.
HuffPost has also reached out to a representative for Noem, who was not immediately available for comment.
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Mullin added to the claims of X-rated conduct elsewhere in his interview with Newsmax, noting that Gaetz’s behavior is not grounds to expel him but rather something his constituents “should make a hard look at.”
“There was many times that he would go out on news programs in the evening, and he would tell me, personally, ‘Hey, I gotta go sell my constituents catheters,’” said Mullin, who referenced Gaetz apparently taking a swipe at the older adults in his base.
“He thought that was funny,” he continued. “To me, that’s not funny. Take your job and make it serious, do what’s right by it, and serve.”
