Markwayne Mullin: Lies and the GOP’s Dangerous Denial

The Gaslighting of Political Violence

Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin went on CNN this week and flat out declared that there’s been no political violence against Democrats. Unbelievable—but sadly predictable. No hesitation, no nuance, no acknowledgment of the truth. Just a brazen denial, as if repeating the lie loudly enough will make it real.

What makes this so grotesque is what he’s erasing: the assassination of the Democratic Speaker of the Minnesota House and her husband—shot and killed in their own home, just weeks ago. Two lives gone. Families shattered. A community left reeling. And Mullin has the audacity to say it never happened.

Not Ignorance—A Strategy

This isn’t a slip of the tongue. It isn’t a moment of forgetfulness. It’s deliberate. Republicans know Democrats have been targeted by political violence. They know elected officials, activists, and ordinary citizens have been threatened, harassed, and in some cases killed.

But to admit it would dismantle the GOP’s preferred narrative: that conservatives are the only people under attack, the only ones persecuted in modern America. That victimhood complex is central to their political identity—and acknowledging Democratic suffering would puncture it.

A Page From the Authoritarian Playbook

This is how propaganda works. Totalitarian regimes throughout history have perfected the art of selective memory: erase your opponents’ deaths, pretend they were never victims, and frame your side as the eternal target of shadowy enemies.

Mussolini did it. Franco did it. Stalin did it. The tactic is old, and it’s effective. What we’re witnessing now is its Americanized version.

The Double Standard

Republicans will howl for months about a broken Starbucks window. They’ll rage about a protest that blocks traffic for an afternoon. They’ll write fundraising emails over graffiti on a courthouse wall.

But when a sitting Democratic leader is murdered in her own home? Silence. Or worse—denial. Mullin didn’t just fail to acknowledge the violence. He rewrote history on live television, erasing the victims entirely.

Why Denial Is Dangerous

When political leaders deny violence, they don’t just protect their image. They embolden the next extremist. They send a clear message: Democrats’ lives don’t count, their deaths won’t be remembered, and their killers won’t even be recognized as political actors.

That erasure is not just dishonest—it is itself a form of violence. And it invites more.

Complicity, Not Blindness

Make no mistake: the Republican Party is not blind. It is complicit. They want their base to believe Democrats are never targeted. They want their voters to think conservatives live under unique threat. Because grievance and paranoia are the fuel that keeps their machine running.

But history shows where this leads. When violence is normalized against one side, when assassinations are denied or excused, when victims are erased from public memory—the cycle doesn’t stop. It escalates. And the silence of leaders becomes blood on their hands.

Who Defines Reality?

Mullin’s comments weren’t just shameful. They were dangerous. And every American who believes in democracy should call this what it is: gaslighting in service of authoritarianism. Because if we allow them to erase today’s violence, we make tomorrow’s violence inevitable.

But here’s the truth: Republicans don’t get the final say. We do.

And in November, voters must make it clear that Republicans don’t get to define reality. They don’t get to erase victims. They don’t get to decide which lives matter. That power belongs to the people—and it’s time to use it.

Photo By Greg Nash