Actor Jon Bernthal is drawing attention for repeatedly going after Donald Trump’s version of manhood, arguing that the former president’s tough-guy image doesn’t hold up against people who have actually served or struggled.
Bernthal, known for his roles in Spider-Man and The Odyssey, has made clear he doesn’t see Trump as the alpha figure some supporters claim.
“Whatever your politics are, whether you’re into them or you’re not, the thing that I could never really understand was that this man who to me clearly had never worked for anything, had not really grinded for anything, had not served, did not show compassion, had this sort of monopoly somehow on toughness and patriotism,” Bernthal said in a video.
He added that people he considers genuinely tough would see through it instantly.
“How so many people I know who are family members of mine who are genuinely tough, genuinely strong people kind of went that way where I feel like if that same guy walked into a bar, they would laugh at it. He would literally be a clown.”
Bernthal’s criticism isn’t limited to Trump himself. He has also weighed in on the wave of online figures pushing toxic masculinity, including names like Andrew Tate and Myron Gaines.
Speaking with Conan O’Brien, Bernthal argued that strength and sensitivity aren’t opposites. “Classic masculinity are super, super important, but equally important is being kind, is being empathetic, is to stand up for somebody who has less rights than you, somebody who’s being picked on, somebody who’s being put into the corner, somebody who’s just sad.”
He pointed to a friend, Navy SEAL Kevin Vance, as an example of that balance.
Bernthal stated, “He talks about the code of the samurai and how they knew how to brawl and they knew how to use swords and they were warriors, but they also had to get in touch with their ‘feminine’ side and their ability to do calligraphy and to dance and to cook and to garden.”
For Bernthal, rigidity is the real weakness.
He continued, “When it’s confused with being hardened or picking on somebody or saying it’s my way or the highway, to me that reeks of such fear and insecurity.”
His social media history backs up the sentiment. In August 2020, Bernthal shared an article titled “Whose alpha male is this? Donald Trump and America’s sad failed model of masculinity.” He then noted, “This piece tells the truth. This dude is such a coward.”
