'Bad and corrupt time': Mark Ruffalo criticizes Trump in 250th anniversary message

A group of Hollywood figures, including Mark Ruffalo, Sarah Jessica Parker, Holland Taylor, and Bradley Whitford, came together to release a July 4 video on Saturday in a call against tyranny as President Donald Trump celebrated his Freedom 250 festivities. The video, led by author Timothy Snyder, shared 20 important lessons on how to defend against tyranny. 

The video was published via author Snyder's Substack and features A-listers reading from his heralded 2017 book, 'On Tyranny', which examined the patterns of authoritarianism through the lens of President Donald Trump's rise to power in 2016. "To celebrate a rebellion is to know that, from a flawed world, we can make new things," Snyder wrote in his intro to the video release. "We can hold on, we can find each other, and not just imagine but create a much better America. It is a special 250th–it is ours."

Ruffalo, who read a few sections from the book, previously shared with Variety that he still has hope for future administrations to repair the damage that has occurred. "My hope is that after this very bad and corrupt time we are living through now, we move away from a government that caters to the wealthy and powerful and focuses on the needs, desires, and dreams of the children and young people," he said. He added that he hoped Americans would live up to the promise of equality and close the wealth gap to build a world based on peace and the well-being of the working class. Keep America moving toward its great promise and not the measly mistakes and cruelty of its past."

A similar message was echoed by the Marvel actor in Snyder's video, which shared instructions to the people on how to "defend institutions" and "believe in truth." Ruffalo was joined by fellow actors including, Isabel Allende, Judd Apatow, Margaret Atwood, Joan Baez, Sophia Bush, Misha Collins, Kimberlè Crenshaw, Ted Danson, Ron Funches, Tony Goldwyn, Eric Holder, Jenifer Lewis, Leslie Odom Jr., Billy Porter, Maria Ressa, Lisa Rinna, Molly Ringwald, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Mark Ruffalo, J. Smith-Cameron, and Viet Thanh Nguyen.

The 20 lessons shared included urging people to "Not obey in advance", "Beware the one-party state", "Remember professional ethics", "Practice corporeal politics", "Learn from peers in other countries", "Be a patriot", and "Be as courageous as you can", among others. "The lesson of America is not that our republic is a given," Parker says in the conclusion of the video. "It is that it must be defended again and again by people who refuse to give up on one another and, on the highest promise of the nation, for future generations. What happens next is not inevitable; it depends, as it always has, on us," she added. 

Meanwhile, in the opening weekend of the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations, Trump, in his address, praised the U.S. military and criticized the democratic socialists, warning that a "communist menace" poses a major threat to the country. The President also honored the living heroes of past American wars, each of whom was called to the stage to be recognized before a notable historical American flag.