Presidential debate: Mark Ruffalo and Brie Larson react to ‘horrifying’ Trump-Biden clash

Hollywood celebrities have shared their reactions to the first presidential debate, with many calling it “horrifying” and reaching for the mute button.

Broadcasting live from Ohio on Tuesday night (29 September), the debate saw Joe Biden and Donald Trump go head-to-head on the Supreme Court, coronavirus, the economy, race, and the integrity of the election. According to CBS News’s count, Trump interrupted Biden a grand total of 73 times.

During the messy debate, Trump questioned Biden’s intelligence, while Biden called the president a clown and said: “Will you shut up, man?”

Another stand-out moment was when moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump whether he would condemn white supremacists and the president replied: “Sure, I’m willing to do that... Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.” The Proud Boys have been described by the FBI as a far-right, male-exclusive group and the bureau also considers it to have ties to white nationalism, a claim that has been rejected by the organisation.

Many stars were watching the debate and tweeting about it last night, with Mark Ruffalo criticising Trump over his Supreme Court choice, Amy Coney Barrett.

“President Trump is right now trying to use the Supreme Court to strip Healthcare away from millions of Americans and has said he will use the Supreme Court to win the election," Ruffalo tweeted. "Remember Justice Ginsburg's dying wishes were to appoint a justice after the election."

Ruffalo added later: "It would be great of come back to ANYTHING APPROACHING NORMAL! Donald has put this country on its head, his leadership is Chaos. We can watch this debate and see how little he knows about working with anyone. That is why he let Covid kill 200K people. No Plan! #Debates2020."

After the debate was over, Ruffalo declared Biden the “clear” winner.

Brie Larson said: “Take a breath. And remember: your remote exists for a reason if you need to use it for your well-being.”

Chance the Rapper added: “The entire country has to make a decision as to whether it will continue to downplay the fact that our President is an openly racist White Supremacist and what that means for its citizens, or... VOTE HIM OUT.”

Some stars also came out in support of Trump, with singer Joy Villa tweeting: "Trump is CRUSHING THIS DEBATE!"

The debate was Biden and Trump’s first of three ahead of the presidential election in November. Tens of millions of US voters were expected to have tuned in to watch the event.