Ron Perlman Got Into A Hilarious Twitter Fight With Trump Ally Matt Gaetz

Ron Perlman plays a lot of reactionary tough guys — perhaps most notably Clarence “Clay” Morrow on Sons of Anarchy — but in real life he’s an outspoken progressive. He’s often bragged about giving Harvey Weinstein a “pee handshake.” He also tweets a lot, mostly about politics, and he doesn’t mince words when talking about the current administration. So when he got some pushback from one of Trump’s biggest allies over social media, Perlman responded in kind.

It began Saturday night, when the former Hellboy called out Florida Representative Matt Gaetz — one of the president’s most loyal lapdogs, known for, among other oddities, cryptically threatening Michael Cohen, prompting much online mockery — for a tweet denouncing the U.S.’s wildly successful national soccer team, who famously had no interest in accepting congrats from a president they despised.

“The US Soccer team called and you guessed it… said they couldn’t give any less of a f*ck about what you two dips*its think,” Perlman tweeted, tagging both Gaetz and Trump.

Sunday morning, Gaetz responded:

“This racial justice warrior had no problem in Hollywood portraying the White Supremacist leader of a motorcycle gang,” Gaetz wrote, adding a Sons of Anarchy hashtag. The politician — who was dragged online last year for seeming to think old children’s entertainer Captain Kangaroo referred to kangaroo courts — apparently doesn’t understand what acting is, to Perlman’s amusement.

“Yessir, so true! So rewarding playing a*sholes on tv,” Perlman wrote, adding, “Tell me sir, how is it actually being one?” Gaetz didn’t let that one go.

“Honestly? The fact that Hollywood thinks I’m an a*shole is a badge of honor,” Gaetz wrote, prompting one more reply from Perlman. “You wouldn’t be tweeting about me if my message weren’t true & effective. Threatens your wokeness. How triggered will you be when @realDonaldTrump is re-elected? More or less than when crooked lost?”

“Speaking of Woke Matty, do you think it’s just Hollywood that thinks you’re an a*shole?” Perlman responded. “Read the comments, I’ll wait…”

Gaetz responded by talking about the size of the district he represents. But Perlman had a response to that one, too.

“Ya know what, you’re right. A guy who wins a totally gerrymandered district with daddy’s money deserves our deepest admiration,” Perlman told Gaetz. “You’re right..I only PLAY scumbags and grifters. You’re the real deal!”

There’s still no end in sight in the fight between the actor and the politician. In fact, Perlman sounded like he wasn’t finished yet, writing, “Matt, ya really wanna keep going? I been schoolin ya all day, I’ll school ya all night!”