Jake Tapper gives union boss a reality check after he blames GOP senator for starting feud that erupted at Senate hearing

CNN anchor Jake Tapper dished out the truth on Tuesday when Teamsters president Sean O'Brien used Tapper's show to continue bashing Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.).

Earlier in the day, Mullin challenged O'Brien to a fight in the middle of a Senate hearing — a challenge O'Brien accepted — awakening a months-long feud that began when O'Brien personally attacked Mullin. Ultimately, no one fought after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) intervened and re-established hearing decorum.

On CNN, Tapper asked O'Brien for his reaction to that heated moment after reminding him that Mullin is a former professional MMA fighter with an undefeated record.

"What went through my mind was you're one of 100 of the most powerful people in the country and you're acting like a 12-year-old in a schoolyard because you didn't get your way," O'Brien responded. "I mean, look, he actually has the ability — these 100 elite — to actually effectuate change in this country, and he's focused on being a bully? You know, we're not going to stand for it, and we're definitely brought up differently."

But Tapper had no patience for O'Brien's double standard.

"But, can I say, you're tweeting like a 12-year-old," Tapper fired back.

The CNN anchor explained that O'Brien initiated the feud when he made "fun of [Mullin] for not being the tallest senator," suggesting O'Brien is not best representing his union members when he uses his time to attack Mullin.

O'Brien's response resembled something with which parents are all too familiar: "He started the whole thing."

Toward the end of the interview — after O'Brien took more personal shots at Mullin — the union boss claimed Mullin "chose to not act like a U.S. senator, and he's going to have to pay the consequences for that." He did not specify what those "consequences" will be and whether he will be the one to dish those out, as he perhaps implied in the social media post that started the feud.

For his part, Mullin defended his actions.

"He called me out," Mullin said Tuesday afternoon. "He said 'anytime, anyplace.' You don't call me out and say 'anytime, anyplace' and then not back it up what you said. ... I'm still a guy. He called me. He said it. I just answered the bell. That was all."

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