I really think this guy is a poser. He was not going to fight that man for real.

Hey Truth, like you always say you cannot make this stuff up.

Instead, the Oklahoma Republican is defending his behavior and actively suggesting that threats of violence have a special place in American history that should be revived.

In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Wednesday, Mullin, a former professional MMA fighter, said a return to physical violence could help cure what he derided as a culture of “keyboard warriors” who “go out there and run their mouth all the time, and then they don’t ever have to face the consequences.”

Mullin’s macho feud is with Sean O’Brien, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The two tangled verbally at a previous hearing when Mullin criticized unions for trying to infiltrate his plumbing business. O’Brien later insulted Mullin on Twitter, referencing his height and suggesting he was ready for a fight with Mullin.

To the criticism that a senator should not resort to violent threats, Mullin said, “I’m a guy from Oklahoma first, and there’s consequences for doing some of this.”

He told Bash he was fully ready to fight O’Brien in the Senate hearing room Tuesday when she noted the camera showed him taking off his wedding ring.

“The first thing I thought of when I stood up, I thought: I’m going to break my hand on this guy’s face. I’m going to take my wedding ring off,” Mullin said.

Bash asked how Mullin expects his six children to view all of this, to which he argued, “You’re responsible for your words.”

“I’m not somebody that’s going to say we go around and fight all the time; I got paid to fight,” he said. “But I will say that every now and then, you do, and you should be taught a lesson.”