Dave Bautista offered his opinion on Donald Trump’s “tough guy” persona in a recent clip on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The actor and pro wrestler didn’t mince words, intercutting commentary on behavior the Republican presidential candidate has shown that he perceives as weak with feats of strength. Notably, Bautista’s rant comes in the wake of polls showing Trump has a massive lead with male voters.
Dave Bautista blasts Trump in recent Jimmy Kimmel Live skit
On a recent Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Dave Bautista appeared in a skit mocking Donald Trump’s “tough guy” image. Kimmel prefaced the skit with, “Young, straight, white men love Donald Trump. But is he the strong, Alpha man these men believe him to be? Not according to one of the toughest guys I know he isn’t.”
Bautista started the segment with, “Fellas, we gotta talk. A lot of men seem to think that Donald Trump is some kind of tough guy. He’s not.” Then, he launched into a two-minute attack on Trump’s looks, strength, and character (as well as his NFT trading cards).
However, it’s worth noting that these aren’t necessarily Bautista’s words (even if he does agree with them). Comedian and Jimmy Kimmel Live writer Jesse Joyce takes responsibility for the skit. Joyce says the inspiration behind the bit was, “I wrote this cause it’s what I always wanted to say about Trump pretending to be a tough guy.”
The skit has drawn some fire, even from Trump’s detractors. Lines like, “Look at that gut. It’s like a garbage bag full of buttermilk,” can be interpreted as fat shaming. Additionally, the segment ended with an insult that used gendered language: “What’s wrong, tough guy? Did someone grab you by the p***y? Whiny little b***h.”
Harris continues to struggle with the male vote, so we’ll likely see more of this type of content in the run-up to the election on November 2. We’ll see if this sort of rhetoric captures indecisive male voters or pushes them away then.
