Soon-to-be Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin boasted about spanking his children as a form of discipline in a video that has resurfaced as he was confirmed to replace Kristi Noem.

Mullin, a father of six and former MMA fighter, made the comments during an October 2023 meeting of the City Elders, a group he said aims to get “Godly people” elected to school boards, city councils and other positions.

He also recalled threatening his daughter’s boyfriend, whom he described as a “good kid,” saying to him: “If I ever see you kiss her in front of me, I’m dragging your face across the asphalt.”

“And that’s a true story; I told him that,” Mullin added.

Watch Mullin’s full address on YouTube.

Mullin told the audience that “we must be willing to discipline our kids” and reflected on being raised “by the fear of a belt,” saying he “deserved” the beatings he received from his father, who was in the audience.

“I’ve never seen a man that can take the belt off so fast, double it up and still hit you. I don’t know how in the world he done that. I tried it and I just can’t,” Mullin said, claiming he learned “respect.”

“I do spank. I have no problem with that,” he said, drawing applause for praising the physical discipline, which, although not illegal, is argued against by child psychologists.

Mullin went on to describe his daughters as “truly loving,” adding, “You can’t imagine how loving they are. ... I can spank them and I’m still upset and they’ll come and crawl on my lap two minutes later and just hug on me.”

He also recalled one daughter pleading, “No, Daddy. No, Daddy. No, Daddy! No! I’m sorry, Daddy, I’m sorry, Dad,” saying she would “get madder and madder and she just couldn’t bring herself to even bend over for me to bust her butt and I was like, ‘Hun, you got like two seconds or you going to get two instead of one.’” She’d be “mad for like a day,” he claimed.

Mullin said disciplining his son was especially difficult, saying the boy “was so hard on himself because he would just have this huge crocodile tear running down his eyes.”

The remarks have resurfaced as Mullin was confirmed to replace Noem following an explosive Senate confirmation hearing during which Mullin was pressed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) over his past attacks on him and his blow-up with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien during a 2023 hearing.

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