Actor Mark Ruffalo, a vocal critic of concentrated wealth and corporate power, has thrown his support behind billionaire investor Tom Steyer in Californias governors race, prompting a wave of backlash from his own progressive base.
According to Breitbart, the Disney-Marvel star announced his endorsement in an Instagram post on Thursday, praising Steyers environmental activism while attacking rival Democrat Xavier Becerra as a captive of corporate interests. Tom has spent the last two decades working to stop climate change. Becerra is bought and paid for by Big Oil and other corporations that have spent nearly $50 million to elect him, Ruffalo declared, framing the contest as a battle between grassroots idealism and entrenched special interests.
Ruffalo attempted to reconcile his long-standing hostility toward extreme wealth with his embrace of a billionaire candidate, openly conceding that he is no admirer of the ultra-rich. Though he admitted he is no fan of billionaires, adding that he sees no reason for people to have that kind of wealth, he tried to carve out an exception for Steyer by drawing a line between what he called oligarchs and other billionaires, even as Steyer pours vast sums into acquiring political power and influence.
While Im not a fan of billionaires and see no reason for people to have that kind of wealth, I think there is a distinction between an oligarch and a billionaire, he said. One uses their wealth and power to amass more wealth and power, driven purely by greed. Their wealth is usually based on the exploitation of the land, environment, other resources, or people. Although Tom is a billionaire, I do not view him as an oligarch, unlike Musk or Thiel or Trump or Bezos.
Ruffalo went on to portray Steyer as a champion of the lefts most hardline causes, signaling that the candidate would serve as a counterweight to President Trump and to law enforcement agencies progressives routinely target. Tom is a progressive who will work for the people of California, not to enrich himself or corporations. If elected, he will appoint an administration of people who are progressive and solution-oriented, he continued. He will be a bulwark against Trump. Tom is calling for ICE to be abolished and will hold ICE accountable for crimes in California. He is against the corporate merger of Paramount and Warner Bros, and he will work to make Hollywood a thriving industry based in California again. Tom supports taxing the rich (including himself) whereas Becerra has not supported calls to tax billionaires.
That agenda, steeped in abolishing ICE, higher taxes, and aggressive cultural regulation, underscores how far left Californias Democratic politics have drifted, even as the state grapples with crime, homelessness, and an exodus of taxpayers under President Trumps efforts to restore national prosperity. Yet Ruffalos attempt to sanitize Steyers billionaire status did not sit well with many of his own followers, who argued that no amount of progressive rhetoric can justify one man holding such outsized economic and political clout.
Ruffalos hardcore progressive fans flooded his post with criticism, insisting that Steyers wealth alone should bar him from office and accusing the actor of betraying his own anti-billionaire rhetoric. This is so disappointing to read from you. Steyer could help millions of people without ever holding office. With his money TODAY. But instead hes spent $300 million on his presidential run and this governor run. Billionaires should not exist, said one user.
Others echoed that sentiment, arguing that if Steyer truly cared about ordinary Americans, he would deploy his fortune directly rather than seeking more power through elected office. Dear Mark, Tom is the perfect example of if he wanted to, he would. Steyer doesnt need the title of governor to do any of the things he claims to want to do, hes a billionaire!!! said another user.
Skeptics also questioned whether Steyers sweeping promises on immigration enforcement and corporate power would ever materialize, warning that billionaire politicians often protect their own class once in office. Making promises about ICE doesnt mean he will actually do anything, or that he actually can. The problem Billionaires Promises, is getting Billionaire results when their Billionaire Friends turn their backs on them, said another, highlighting a broader distrust on the left that mirrors long-standing conservative concerns about wealthy activists using progressive causes as a vehicle for greater control over public life.
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