Captain America called it “an embarrassing night for America.”

On the night of November 8, 2016, as the American electorate returned its verdict, Chris Evans — the actor who spent a decade portraying Captain America, the fictional embodiment of American democratic values — took to Twitter to call his fellow citizens hatemongers and bullies. He was devastated. He stayed in the United States. He spent the next eight years tweeting about Donald Trump. In January 2024, he visited Joe Biden at the White House, where Biden gave him a pair of “Dark Brandon” sunglasses. Captain America was unavailable for comment.

November 8, 2016, 9:48 PM — the American people have voted

Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States on November 8, 2016. As the results came in that night, Chris Evans — the actor then in the middle of his run as Marvel’s Captain America — posted a sequence of tweets reacting to the outcome.

The tweets were direct. “This is an embarrassing night for America,” he wrote. “We’ve let a hatemonger lead our great nation. We’ve let a bully set our course. I’m devastated.” The sequence received 40,000 likes. It was covered by The Wrap, Boston Magazine, Paste Magazine, Heroic Hollywood, and dozens of entertainment outlets.

The framing is worth examining. “We’ve let a hatemonger lead our great nation” is a statement about the American voters who chose Trump — 62.9 million of them — not just about Trump himself. The character Evans played — Steve Rogers, Captain America — is specifically defined by his belief in the American people, his willingness to fight for ordinary citizens, and his refusal to impose his views by force. On election night, the actor who played that character called those same citizens hatemongers. The irony was immediate and widely noted.

“This is an embarrassing night for America. We've let a hatemonger lead our great nation. We've let a bully set our course. I'm devastated.”

Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans), Twitter, November 8, 2016 — election night

2017–2021: Eight years of documented rage

Following the election, Evans continued posting anti-Trump commentary at a rate that TooFab catalogued in a 2017 feature titled “10 of ‘Captain America’ Chris Evans’ Most Savage Tweets Bashing Trump Administration.” The Hollywood Reporter profiled him as “The Political Avenger” and noted that he “feels rage” about the Trump presidency — “it’s unbelievable,” he told them.

In July 2019, Evans called Trump’s tweets about four Democratic congresswomen “hateful and racist.” That coverage ran in the Boston Globe. In November 2020, following the election, Evans joined actor Zach Braff in tweeting that they would “never forget” Trump “enablers” — implying that those who voted for or supported Trump should face lasting consequences. Fox News covered the exchange under the headline “Chris Evans, Zach Braff will ‘never forget’ Trump ‘enablers.’” The Daily Wire and Town Hall also covered it.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige was asked about Evans’ political tweets and praised them, saying “I love what you’re doing” and describing his Twitter activity as “very noble, very Cap-like.” The studio’s position was that Evans tweeting anti-Trump content was an expression of Captain America’s values. A different reading is that Captain America’s values — as written — include trusting the democratic process, protecting civilians from authoritarian imposition, and not treating political opponents as permanent enemies.

The character who believed in the American people; the actor who called them hatemongers

The specific irony of Chris Evans’ political posture — as opposed to, say, Cher or Amy Schumer — is that Evans spent a decade playing a character whose entire arc is built around faith in the American democratic project. Steve Rogers, Captain America, is not an ideological figure in the Marvel films. He is explicitly anti-authoritarian. In Captain America: Civil War(2016, released six months before the election), Rogers refuses to submit to governmental oversight of the Avengers because he doesn’t trust authority to always make the right call. The film’s thesis, articulated by Rogers, is that the individual conscience — not institutional consensus — is the final check on power.

Then the election happened, and the actor who played that character described the outcome of a democratic election as “embarrassing,” described the voters who produced it as people who “let a hatemonger lead our great nation,” and suggested that supporters of the winning candidate should be remembered and presumably held accountable.

This tension was not lost on commentators. Protesters at anti-Trump demonstrations used Captain America imagery and shield iconography. Evans was praised in progressive media as “the real Captain America.” Marvel’s Kevin Feige called his anti-Trump tweets “very Cap-like.” The argument, as best as it can be reconstructed, is that opposing Trump is what Captain America would do. The counterargument is that Captain America’s most defining scene involves defying a governmental consensus that happened to be wrong — not validating the other side’s consensus when it won an election.

“I love what you're doing. It's very noble, very Cap-like.”

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, praising Chris Evans' anti-Trump Twitter activity

“A Starting Point” — nonpartisan in name; launched during years of partisan rage

In April 2019, Evans announced he was launching a civic engagement website called “A Starting Point,” designed to let members of Congress answer brief policy questions from both sides of the aisle. He described it as “nonpartisan” and told CNN he wanted voters to hear policy positions from elected officials directly without spin. By July 2020, the site was live and Evans was doing press for it.

The website launched while Evans was also tweeting about Trump’s “hateful and racist” statements, posting “I feel rage” in national magazine profiles, and — later, in 2020 — vowing to “never forget” Trump’s “enablers.” The Columbia Journalism Review published a critical analysis of the project, questioning whether a “both sides” framing was coherent given Evans’ simultaneous public posture.

The site itself was widely covered and attracted participation from members of Congress. It was, by most accounts, a genuine effort at civic engagement. It was also launched and operated by a man who had publicly called the 2016 election “embarrassing” and the voters who produced it complicit in putting a “hatemonger” in power.

January 2024 — Dark Brandon sunglasses, Oval Office photo op

In January 2024, Chris Evans visited the White House to meet with President Joe Biden. The stated purpose was to promote civic engagement through “A Starting Point.” Biden gave Evans a pair of his trademark “Dark Brandon” aviator sunglasses — a reference to a progressive internet meme presenting Biden as a powerful, cool leader. The visit was covered by Deadline.

The visit occurred approximately ten months before the 2024 presidential election, in which Biden initially ran before withdrawing. Biden subsequently endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Donald Trump in November 2024. Evans did not return to the White House. Trump returned to the Oval Office in January 2025. Evans’ Twitter/X activity in the aftermath of the 2024 election has not been independently catalogued for this file as of publication.

A clinical summary

On the night of November 8, 2016, Chris Evans called the result of an American presidential election “embarrassing,” described the 62.9 million Americans who voted for the winner as people who “let a hatemonger lead our great nation,” and said he was “devastated.” He was the man playing Captain America at the time — a character whose defining attribute is belief in the American people.

In the eight years that followed, he told a national magazine he felt “unbelievable rage” about the presidency, called Trump tweets “hateful and racist,” vowed to remember Trump’s “enablers,” launched a “nonpartisan” civic website, visited Joe Biden at the White House, and received commemorative sunglasses from the sitting president. Marvel’s Kevin Feige called all of it “very Cap-like.”

Donald Trump was re-elected in November 2024. As of publication, Chris Evans remains in the United States. He is scheduled to reprise his role as Steve Rogers/Captain America in Avengers: Doomsday(2026). Steve Rogers, for the record, fought the Nazis and then went back in time to live out a quiet life in mid-20th century America. He did not post on Twitter about it.

“This is an embarrassing night for America. We've let a hatemonger lead our great nation.”

Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans), November 8, 2016 — the night American voters chose their president