The Harrison Ford Trump clash over climate change reached a new level in late October 2025, when the Star Wars and Indiana Jones actor told The Guardian he did not know of "a greater criminal in history" than the president. Ford, 83, made the remarks days after receiving a conservation leadership award at Chicago's Field Museum, capping more than three decades of environmental work. His words landed as the administration was withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, moving to repeal a key EPA climate finding and cutting tax credits for wind and solar. Supporters of the president say those steps lower costs and cut red tape. Ford and many scientists say they put the planet at risk. Here is what he said, what is behind it and what both sides argue, slide by slide..
Harrison Ford Trump clash erupts over climate
Harrison Ford has spent decades speaking up for forests, oceans and wildlife, but his latest comments went further than ever before. In an interview with The Guardian published Oct. 31, 2025, the 83-year-old actor sharply criticized President Donald Trump's handling of climate change and said he did not "know of a greater criminal in history." The remarks came the same week Ford was honored in his hometown of Chicago for a lifetime of conservation work. They spread quickly through outlets including Variety, Entertainment Weekly, The Hill and Fox News, reopening an old fight between Hollywood and the White House over energy and the environment. Supporters of the president see a wealthy celebrity attacking policies meant to cut costs and red tape. Ford's allies see a warning from someone who has followed the science for decades. Here is what he said, what led up to it, and how the administration's record actually looks..
The Harrison Ford Trump interview line that set off the storm
Ford spoke with The Guardian ahead of an awards appearance at Chicago's Field Museum, according to Variety. Asked about the rollback of climate policies during Trump's second term, he did not soften his words. "I don't know of a greater criminal in history," he said, as quoted by Variety, The Hill and Entertainment Weekly. The line was blunt even by the standards of celebrity politics, and it became the headline almost everywhere the interview was picked up. Ford did not accuse the president of any specific crime under the law. His point, as the surrounding quotes make clear, was moral and political: he believes the White House is ignoring a threat that will hurt millions of people around the world. That framing puts the dispute on the ground of science and responsibility rather than courtrooms, and it shapes how both critics and fans have read every word he said since.
Harrison Ford on Trump: whims instead of policies
Ford's critique went well beyond one sharp sentence. "Trump doesn't have any policies, he has whims," he told The Guardian, according to TheWrap and Entertainment Weekly. He then described how the direction of federal climate policy makes him feel, using an expletive that outlets printed with asterisks. In plain terms, he said it frightens him deeply. He summed up what he sees as the problem in four words: "the ignorance, the hubris, the lies, the perfidy." Perfidy is an old word for deliberate betrayal of trust, and his choice of it signals that he believes the president understands the risk and is choosing to ignore it. According to Fox News, Ford also said Trump is "losing ground because everything he says is a lie." Supporters of the president reject that picture. They argue that his energy agenda, built around expanding domestic oil and gas production and cutting regulation, is a deliberate plan rather than a whim.
Harrison Ford says Trump makes money while the world burns
One of Ford's most quoted lines targeted the link between politics and money. Trump "knows better," he said, "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," according to The Hill's account of the Guardian interview. Ford did not say which earnings he meant, and the interview as reported did not include specific figures. He also said he hoped the "drill, baby, drill" approach would not win out, according to Fox News. That slogan has become shorthand for the administration's push to expand domestic oil and gas production. Backers of the policy say more drilling lowers energy prices, supports jobs and reduces reliance on foreign suppliers. Critics, including many climate scientists, argue that locking in more fossil fuel use will deepen warming and make future emission cuts harder and more expensive. Ford clearly sits in the second camp.
Harrison Ford Trump wind turbine jab
Ford also took a swipe at the president's long-running feud with wind power. Trump dislikes wind turbines because he has "just not seen a gold one," Ford joked, according to The Hill and Fox News. The quip played on the president's well-known taste for gold decor. Trump has criticized wind energy for years and has repeatedly called turbines ugly, Fox News noted. At the United Nations in September 2025, he said, "The wind doesn't blow, those big windmills are so pathetic and so bad," as reported by Inside Climate News. During a summer trip to Europe, he urged the United Kingdom to "get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil," Fox News reported. The president's case centers on reliability and cost, since turbines produce power only when the wind moves them. On the other side, the International Energy Agency, cited by Inside Climate News, says wind and solar are now the cheapest forms of energy.
Thirty years of warnings, he says, came true
Ford told The Guardian that the current moment did not surprise him. "I knew it was coming, I have been preaching this stuff for 30 years," he said, according to Variety. He added, "Everything we've said about climate change has come true." Global data support the warming trend he described. The World Meteorological Organization says the past 10 years were the hottest on record and that 2024 was the warmest year, about 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, as reported by Inside Climate News. The issue is personal for Ford as well. According to La Voce di New York, he had to flee his Los Angeles home during the Southern California wildfires earlier in 2025. His Brentwood property survived, while many others nearby were destroyed. Those January fires forced mass evacuations across the region and pushed questions about heat, drought and fire risk to the center of national debate.
A new award honoring Ford's conservation leadership
The interview came days after Ford received the inaugural E.O. Wilson Legacy Award for Transformative Conservation Leadership. The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation presented it on Oct. 29, 2025, during Half-Earth Day at the Field Museum in Chicago, according to the foundation's announcement and ABC7 Chicago. The foundation said the award recognizes excellence in conservation science, public engagement and mobilizing collective action. Its president and CEO, Paula J. Ehrlich, said that "Harrison has devoted his time and voice to environmental causes for over 30 years." The bronze medal, designed by sculptor Heidi Wastweet, features a thumbprint representing humanity's impact on nature, a great blue heron for wisdom and resilience, and three leaf-cutter ants honoring Wilson's research. Ford also sits on the foundation's board of advisors, according to the release. The honor marks years of work behind the scenes as well as in front of the cameras.
The ant species named for Harrison Ford
The award carried extra meaning because of Ford's friendship with E.O. Wilson, the Harvard biologist best known for his work on ants and biodiversity, who died in 2021. The Hill reported that the two were friends before Wilson's death. Wilson named an ant species after the actor, Pheidole harrisonfordi, in 2002 to recognize Ford's work as vice chair of Conservation International, according to Wikipedia's account of Ford's activism. A spider, Calponia harrisonfordi, was named for him in 1993, and a Peruvian snake, Tachymenoides harrisonfordi, followed in 2023. The foundation that honored Ford carries on Wilson's Half-Earth Project, which works to inspire collective action to protect the biosphere. According to the foundation, the project builds on Wilson's vision of protecting half of the planet for the rest of life. The three leaf-cutter ants on Ford's new medal are a direct nod to the scientist who once honored him with a species name.
A Chicago street kid who met a fox
For Ford, being honored at the Field Museum was a homecoming. Born on July 13, 1942, in Chicago, he told the gala crowd that growing up in the city "explains it all," ABC7 Chicago reported. He described himself as a "street kid" and an outdoor kid who first learned about nature at the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry, with the Lincoln Park Zoo also shaping him. He recalled a childhood moment when a red fox stared at him from about 10 feet away, an encounter that left him feeling he was part of nature rather than separate from it. "I maintain hope because it keeps me from despair. Science is our hope," he told the audience, according to ABC7. That gentle message from the stage stood in sharp contrast with the anger in the interview published two days later, and it shows the two sides of how Ford talks about the planet.
Three decades at Conservation International's top table
Ford's climate activism is not new. He has served as vice chair of Conservation International since 1991, the year the position was created, making him its first vice chair, according to Wikipedia. The E.O. Wilson foundation's release says he has held the role for over 25 years. Ford has used his fame to draw attention and money to the group's work protecting forests and other ecosystems, and he has voiced public service messages for EarthShare since 1992. In the Guardian interview, according to La Voce di New York, he stressed that Indigenous peoples "are the stewards of much of the remaining forests." Away from the cameras, he is also a licensed airplane and helicopter pilot who has flown rescue missions near his home in Wyoming, according to Wikipedia. Those decades of involvement are why his allies say his criticism of the president carries more weight than a typical celebrity opinion.
His blunt message to world leaders in 2019
Ford has also carried his message to the United Nations. At the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York, speaking on behalf of Conservation International, he addressed the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and its effect on climate change, according to Wikipedia's summary of the speech. He urged adults to listen to young people and said the most important thing they can do is "get the hell out of their way." The line spread widely and became one of his signature statements on the issue. He returned to the same idea in Chicago in 2025, telling the audience that "young people give me hope" and that older generations should step aside to let them lead, according to the E.O. Wilson foundation. The UN link is notable, because six years later the same headquarters hosted a very different message about climate from the sitting president, a speech that helped frame Ford's anger this fall.
What Trump told the UN, and why Harrison Ford objects
On Sept. 23, 2025, Trump addressed the 80th UN General Assembly and dismissed global climate warnings. He called them "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world," according to Axios and Inside Climate News. He said the predictions made by the United Nations and others "were wrong" and were "made by stupid people," Axios reported. He also said, "The carbon footprint is a hoax made up by people with evil intentions," and warned that "if you don't get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail." The exact wording matters: he used "con job" for climate warnings and "hoax" for the carbon footprint. The president's allies say climate warnings have been used to justify costly rules that raise prices for families. Axios noted that scientific data show human activity is driving rising global temperatures, and that his remarks conflicted with research from US government agencies.
Leaving the Paris Agreement for a second time
On Jan. 20, 2025, his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order titled "Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements," directing the United States to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. The order says such agreements "steer American taxpayer dollars to countries that do not require, or merit, financial assistance," and that US policy is to "put the interests of the United States and the American people first." It also states that the country can protect the environment while growing its economy. The Paris deal aims to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, according to Axios. A January order also ended US funding for the UN's climate summits and some other international climate activities, Axios reported. It is the second time Trump has pulled the country out of the agreement. He did the same in his first term, and President Joe Biden rejoined in 2021.
The EPA rollback at the heart of the Harrison Ford Trump fight
On July 29, 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin proposed rescinding the 2009 endangerment finding, the determination that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. The finding is the legal basis for many climate rules under the Clean Air Act. If finalized, the proposal would repeal all greenhouse gas standards for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles and heavy-duty engines, according to the EPA. Zeldin called it "the largest deregulatory action in the history of America" and said past EPA leaders "twisted the law, ignored precedent and warped science." The agency says the change is expected to save Americans $54 billion in costs every year and would lower the cost of goods that trucks deliver. Environmental groups pushed back hard. Fred Krupp of the Environmental Defense Fund said the finding "is built on a rock-solid scientific foundation that has gotten even stronger over time."
How the big tax law hit wind and solar
Climate policy also changed through Congress. On July 4, 2025, Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act at the White House. Among many provisions, the law phases out major tax credits for wind and solar power. Projects that begin construction on or after July 4, 2026, lose eligibility unless they are placed in service by Dec. 31, 2027, according to the law firm Pierce Atwood. Federal tax credits for new and used electric vehicles ended on Sept. 30, 2025. The consequences are already visible. Inside Climate News reported that the repeal of clean energy tax credits was cited as a reason the company Fortescue canceled a $210 million electric vehicle battery factory in Michigan. The administration frames its energy agenda around lower costs and fewer regulations, a theme the EPA stressed when it said its own rollback would lower the cost of living. Clean energy advocates say the cuts will slow the shift away from fossil fuels.
Harrison Ford, Trump and both sides of the climate debate
Reaction to the administration's climate agenda splits along familiar lines. Zeldin has defended the EPA rollback by arguing that "there are people who, in the name of climate change, are willing to bankrupt the country," according to reporting on the July announcement. The administration has also moved against large wind projects. Fox News reported that the Interior Department canceled one of the largest land-based wind farms in the country, a project that had been pushed through by the Biden administration in its final weeks. Critics see a broader retreat. Christy Goldfuss of the Natural Resources Defense Council said the endangerment rollback "boggles the mind and endangers the nation's safety and welfare." Abigail Dillen of Earthjustice said it "seeks to deny settled science." Even Christine Todd Whitman, who ran the EPA under Republican President George W. Bush, criticized the move. For Ford, these decisions are the record behind his harsh words.
Harrison Ford Trump criticism did not start now
This was not the first time Ford spoke out against Trump. In a recorded video days before the 2024 election, he endorsed Kamala Harris, saying she "will protect your right to disagree with her about policies or ideas," according to Fox News. In that message he also noted, "Look, I've been voting for 64 years," TheWrap reported. In a July 2025 interview with Variety, Ford criticized Trump's second term and said "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer," Fox News reported. As for the latest interview, Entertainment Weekly said the White House did not immediately respond to its request for comment. No public White House reply to Ford's remarks appeared in the coverage reviewed for this story. Ford, known worldwide for the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, has appeared in eight Best Picture nominated movies, according to the E.O. Wilson foundation, giving him a huge audience for his views.
Why Harrison Ford still sees hope despite Trump
Despite his anger, Ford ended the Guardian interview on a hopeful note. He said he is "confident we can mitigate against" climate change and that people can change their behavior, according to Variety. "We are incredibly adaptive, we are incredibly inventive," he said. According to Fox News, he added that people can develop new technology but need the political will to act. Several big decisions lie ahead. The EPA's endangerment proposal must still be finalized before it takes effect, and wind and solar developers face the July 4, 2026, construction deadline in the new tax law. Environmental groups have signaled strong opposition to the rollbacks, while the administration says its approach will keep energy affordable. Ford has made clear which future he is betting on. In Chicago, he told the crowd that young people give him hope and that older generations should make room for them to lead.
Source: Variety
