Mark Ruffalo's Political Party: Democrat or Republican?

Mark Ruffalo is one of Hollywood’s most respected actors, with a filmography including both dramas and superhero blockbusters. What is Ruffalo’s political affiliation?

Mark Ruffalo is a supporter of the Democratic Party. In the lead up to the 2020 US Presidential Election, Ruffalo was a vocal supporter of Bernie Sanders and endorsed Sanders’ democratic socialism. He has, however, been critical of Joe Biden’s role in allowing the invasion of Iraq in 2003.  

For more on Mark Ruffalo’s politics and his environmental activism, read on.

Democratic Socialism

In the runup to the 2020 US Presidential Election, Ruffalo was vocal in his support for Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. He voiced his support for Sanders on Twitter in September 2019, saying that Sanders’ political ideology was one that worked for the entire population and not just a minority.

He went on to say that he wanted better healthcare and education for the population, a fairer sick leave system, and a more reasonable system of taxation.

Ruffalo showed less support for the Democratic Party’s eventual choice of nominee, Joe Biden. On Twitter, he stated that Biden should be held accountable for his role in supporting President George W. Bush’s use of military force in Iraq.

Biden has since explained his rationale for voting in support of President Bush’s proposal, stating that he believed Bush’s claims that the attacks would prevent a full-scale war. He said that, in retrospect, he would not have supported the decision.

Ruffalo has also been outspoken in his criticism of President Donald Trump, referring to him as “public enemy number one” and saying “everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie”. He seems happy to forego the traditional Hollywood veneer in interviews and speaks candidly on many topics.

He has also been critical of Hollywood, stating that actors “shouldn’t be flying around in private jets”. Ruffalo also feels that Hollywood has perpetuated racial stereotypes, such as by portraying Native Americans as villains for much of cinematic history. He has said that all of Hollywood, himself included, needs to take responsibility and force change.

Environmentalism

Mark Ruffalo has long been an outspoken and active environmentalist. In 2011, he founded the group Water Defense, dedicated to seeing fracking banned in New York.

He has also voiced his opposition to fracking elsewhere in the country, writing to John Hickenlooper, the Governor of Colorado at the time, in opposition to Amendment 71. Amendment 71, nicknamed “Raise the Bar”, increased the voter threshold required to make constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 55%.

There was vocal opposition from environmentalists such as Ruffalo, who felt that the change was intended to protect Colorado’s oil and gas industry at all costs. Amendment 71 was approved by a wide voter margin but has had a tumultuous existence, having been deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2018.

Ruffalo’s environmental advocacy could also be seen in his 2019 film “Dark Waters”, where he starred as real-life lawyer Robert Bilott. The film tells the story of a town in West Virginia becoming contaminated by chemicals released by the DuPont corporation.

It is revealed that the town’s water supply has been contaminated with PFOA, a chemical used to produce Teflon. Recent studies have indicated that PFOA can severe illnesses, including cancer.

Bilott won a $671 million settlement on behalf of 3,500 plaintiffs from the town, claiming that DuPont had negligently allowed dangerous chemicals to contaminate the town’s drinking water. DuPont’s stock price, which had already been losing value throughout 2019, dropped by a further 7.15 points in the aftermath of the film’s release.

DuPont claimed that the film had taken extensive creative liberties in order to portray the corporation as the story’s antagonists. Many of the executives depicted as being at fault are still employed either at DuPont or other major corporations.

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