It is psychically exhausting trying to reconcile the moral engine of Ritchie’s ideology—for example, I cannot think of a major religious text that promotes the overuse of booze or promiscuity, two pastimes Ritchie has ridden hard for—but he has nonetheless branded himself as a kind of pious bedlamite, busting up vintage televisions to insure the ongoing liberation of American men.
Now it’s almost too easy to compare Ritchie to Trump—both have considerable (and dubious) celebrity but no political experience. Both enjoy golf, are prone to hysterical braggadocio, and pander to the religious right while having previously indulged in a hedonistic life style. (Ritchie was once featured in a leaked sex tape alongside Scott Stapp, the singer of Creed, and four women.) But, mostly, each is advancing a strange and aggressive vision of America, in which bluster and bullying are high virtues, while patience and grace are mocked. Both claim an allegiance to rural, working-class Americans, while simultaneously advancing rhetoric (or legislation) that will only further wound the poor.
It’s also hard to tell whether either man actually believes what he’s espousing.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member