Harrison Ford has broken his usual political silence to deliver a scathing attack on President Trump’s environmental policies, calling the president’s approach to climate change one that “scares the shit out of me” in a new interview with The Guardian.
The 83-year-old actor, known for his roles as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, unleashed an unusually harsh critique during a conversation about Trump’s rollback of climate protections and clean energy initiatives. Ford’s comments mark a departure from his typically reserved approach to political commentary, contrasting sharply with celebrities like Mark Hamill who have made Trump criticism a regular part of their public persona.
“It scares the shit out of me. The ignorance, the hubris, the lies, the perfidy,” Ford told The Guardian. “[Trump] knows better, but he’s an instrument of the status quo and he’s making money, hand over fist, while the world goes to hell in a handbasket.”
Ford escalated his criticism further, making an extraordinary comparison about Trump’s place in history: “It’s unbelievable. I don’t know of a greater criminal in history.”
The actor’s comments came in response to Trump’s systematic dismantling of climate and clean air protections during his second term. The president has halted clean energy projects, urged oil and gas companies to “drill, baby, drill,” fired hundreds of scientists while deleting their work, and banned mentions of “climate change” and “emissions” within government agencies.
Ford, a longtime environmental advocate who serves on Conservation International’s board of directors, criticized Trump’s dismissive attitude toward renewable energy. When asked about the president’s dislike of wind turbines, Ford quipped that Trump’s opposition exists because “he has just not seen a gold one.”
The actor described Trump’s approach to policy-making in particularly harsh terms: “he doesn’t have any policies, he has whims.” Ford characterized Trump’s environmental legacy as “a clear expression of ignorance, of hubris and purposeful subterfuge.”
Ford’s environmental activism has deep roots, extending back decades through his work with conservation organizations. He was speaking to The Guardian before receiving a conservation leadership award at Chicago’s Field Museum, an honor bestowed by the foundation of late biologist E.O. Wilson.
The timing of Ford’s comments coincides with Trump’s removal of environmental regulations. The president has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris climate deal for a second time and has pressured other countries to abandon their climate policies, demanding that the European Union roll back its climate rules and purchase more American oil and gas.
Trump has publicly dismissed climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” during a recent United Nations speech, telling world leaders: “If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.”
The actor concluded his environmental advocacy by expressing hope that Trump’s fossil fuel-focused vision would not prevail, citing the global trend toward cleaner energy sources despite the slower pace of adoption than many scientists recommend.
What do you think of Harrison Ford’s rant?
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Dementia and Alzheimer's are awful diseases. It's a shamethey're claiming Hans Solo (H Ford) too...
Been watching Harrison Ford travel down the slow road of mental decline for some time, the observant among us see his mind is slowing. Hopefully, he won't sink into the hateful quagmire DeNiro has slid into and diminish his own legacy. Not a guy with a lot of profound insight, few Hollywood people possess it.