Chad Johnson became the baddest contestant in Bachelorette history this past season, and that didn’t stop on Tuesday night’s premiere of the spinoff Bachelor in Paradise, which raked in 4.6 million viewers , most of whom most likely tuned in for Chad. And yet despite his threats of violence and sexist comments, he has still emerged as a fan favorite. Sound like another reality TV star? That’s right: Chad Johnson is the Donald Trump of the Bachelor franchise.
Here are five ways in which the Bachelor star is like the Republican presidential nominee.
1. Their popularity transcends terrible behavior.
Donald Trump’s entire shtick is that he’s the “Washington outsider.” He’s just an angry citizen, hoping to make America great again. Trump hates political correctness which explains why he says what he thinks.
But it’s a problem when he goes too far. Donald Trump’s insults of the Khan family, whose son, Captain Humayun S.M. Khan, died in Iraq, his defense of former FOX CEO Roger Ailes, and his belief that Ivanka is too “powerful” to “be subjected” to sexual harassment are just a few examples of inappropriate remarks.
Chad has also made a point of doing and saying what he wants. Chad’s deli meat, charcuterie and sweet potato obsession became a running joke. And it was funny—but also a little bizarre—when it was reported that the rerouted website domains of fellow contestants Chase McNary, Robby Hayes, Derek Peth and arch-nemesis Alex Woytkiw to his own Instagram page.
We forgave him, though. It’s Chad! That’s just what Chad does!
But Chad’s behaviors have become increasingly narcissistic, violent and misogynistic. His outburst on Bachelor in Paradise‘s premiere—calling Sarah Herron a “one-armed b-tch” even though she was born with a condition called amniotic band syndrome—was extremely offensive. He also called Lace Morris a “b-tch,” said he would throw her under a bus and “duct-tie you up and make sure you smell like peppermint.” He also talked about murdering people: “I’ll kill your children and murder your family. Dolla, dolla bills, yo.”
Television has no time for misogynistic and sexist comments, and neither do we.
2. They buck the rules.
Rules seems to be to Trump like “the limit” in Mean Girls: “the limit does not exist. THE LIMIT DOES NOT EXIST!” He recently called Hillary Clinton “the devil” and practically asked Russia to hack into Clinton’s emails.
Likewise, Chad seems immune to the rules of the Bachelor world, and life in general. He posted photos of himself making out with fellow Bachelorette contestants’ ex-girlfriends.
3. They believe they’re always right, so they never really apologize.
Trump recently joked at a rally in Virginia that he “always wanted to get the Purple Heart.” Numerous veterans have spoken out, including Illinois Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, who received a Purple Heart in 2004. She lost both of her legs and function in her right arm after a grenade exploded. Trump hasn’t apologized. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon in 2015, Trump explained why he hardly apologizes: “I fully think apologizing’s a great thing, but you have to be wrong.”
For Chad, if he does apologize, it seems less than sincere. Only after Bachelor host Chris Harrison told him that he had to leave the show and other cast members told him to apologize, did he grudgingly say “I’m sorry.” Later, Chad posted an “apology” on Twitter to Sarah, but that hardly makes up for telling her to “suck that fame d-ck.”
4. They’re bullies.
Chad and Trump both turn to taunting when the going gets tough.
Trump nicknamed his fellow candidates. “Crooked Hillary.” “Little” Michael Bloomberg. Marco Rubio with the “biggest ears I’ve ever seen.”
Chad called Lace a “b-tch,” and while she was infatuated with him at first, she quickly changed her mind. Chad has notoriously bad blood with Evan Bass, the erectile dysfunction specialist who was also vying for Jojo’s heart. While speaking about Evan, who is also on Paradise, Chad said: “As far as Evan goes, I didn’t murder him, so that’s good.” Yes, a gold star for you, Chad, for not murdering your fellow co-star.
5. We can’t help but watch anyway.
Nope. Unfortunately, we just keep watching.
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