Mark Ruffalo delivered a passionate speech at the Hands Off Our Vote event in New York City on Sunday night, harshly criticizing US President Donald Trump and saying he would “Hulk out” if he tried to restrict voting in the upcoming midterm elections.
The midterm elections on November 3 could have a major impact on US politics, giving Democrats a chance to take back control of Congress and rein in Trump’s agenda. Sunday’s Hands Down rally was aimed at mobilizing voters and also featured speeches by Robert De Niro and Mo Amer.
Taking to the podium at the event, Ruffalo began: “This election is a big, big deal. There’s a lot hanging in the balance. And we all know we’re going to kick their ass – but we all know they’re going to steal it. They’re going to do everything they can, and it’s not going to end in one night where we all win.”
The “Avengers” and “Spotlight” actor later highlighted the issue of cybersecurity in the vote, calling out Elon Musk in the process. “We have to be on guard for what we may not see coming: Elon,” he said. “This is the cybersecurity of this election. While I’m not an expert, I talk to experts. What I hear over and over again is that there was a security breach in the transfer of votes from the polls to the county headquarters and then to the states.”
To counter this, Ruffalo encouraged voters to join the People for Free Speech organization, which challenges insecure voting systems, to ensure that election results are as accurate as possible and, in his words, “free from any internal or external interference.”
Ruffalo then turned his attention to Trump and said: “We’ve got to get this idiot, idiot, tired ass, lame ass, duck ass out of office. We’ve got to make him a lame duck! We’ve got to stop his policies now. That’s another two years and who knows what he’s going to do? He’s calling to kick the Democrats out of the country. And he says it! The guy says everything he says. I know we’re all tired, so tired, but we can’t give up anymore… They’re going to try to stop us from taking back our country and we’re not going to let them Trump, our fucking votes.” We don’t let you quit!
At that moment, someone in the crowd said, “You tell them, Hulk!” — talking about Ruffalo’s role as the giant green superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Ruffalo laughed and replied, “I’m going to take the Hulk out. You’re not going to like me when I’m angry.” He paused and added: “Hey, I’m still here! They thought I wasn’t in the bill – I’m still here, still playing the Hulk.”
He finished his speech by telling the crowd not to be afraid or intimidated and, of course, to go out and vote.
“We cannot hide. We must stand together, we must fight for each other, and we must be brave. Our time to be brave is coming, I tell you, my brothers,” he said. “They’ll do whatever they can to keep us in our homes. They’ll do whatever they can to make us feel small. They’ll do whatever they can to make us feel lost, they’ll do whatever they can to make it feel inevitable. It’s not inevitable! We’re inevitable – the truth is inevitable.”
Ruffalo is no stranger to speaking out for what he believes in. Joining the Hands Off Our Vote event is Paramount-Warner Bros., which is currently confirmed and expected to be completed this week. It’s been just over a month since he sparked controversy with his criticism of the merger.
In late August, he shared a clip on Instagram in which Paramount board member Safra Catz outlined the “really extremely scary technologies” that Oracle, the tech giant co-founded by Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, who was involved in financing the merger, was using to aid the Israeli military after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. He also likened Larry Ellison to a “classic oligarch” and warned of the consequences of allowing Paramount and Warner Bros. to merge, claiming that the Ellisons were “oppressing workers and consolidating the wealth of the world for their own power and concentrated domination.”
In response, Paramount accused Ruffalo of resorting to “anti-Semitic tropes” and he was also called out by Jewish advocacy groups. Ruffalo denied the accusation in a statement, saying it was “egregious and fundamentally dishonest.”
Following news of the merger being finalized last week, Ruffalo once again spoke out against it. “This merger will stifle creativity, undermine freedom of expression, and cost people jobs; it is a bad deal for this country and should never have been approved,” he wrote. “This is an incredibly disappointing outcome for the hundreds of thousands of people who stood up to prevent it, but it is also not the end. This grassroots movement will not disappear, and neither will our resolve.”