Commentary
A brief slip of the tongue by Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin ignited a wave of criticism after he referred to Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser using masculine pronouns during a Wednesday appearance on The Ingraham Angle, with Brian Kilmeade filling in as host.
Mullin used a masculine pronoun multiple times while criticizing Bowser’s comments about federal efforts to address crime in the capital. In the interview he accused the mayor of injecting race into the discussion and argued that lax enforcement and declines in prosecution, not improved policing, were behind reported crime changes.
The exchange quickly became a focus on social media. Critics called attention to the misgendering, posting mocking comments and images and arguing the gaffe showed ignorance or a lack of credibility.
Supporters of Mullin said the reaction distracted from his substantive points about public safety. They argued the senator’s central claim—that enforcement and prosecutorial decisions affect crime statistics—deserved more attention than the pronoun error.
The episode also reignited broader arguments over gender and public discourse. Some comm...