--- title: Climate Change: James Cameron Takes on Donald Trump description: Filmmaker James Cameron described Donald Trump's campaign as a unique opportunity to put climate change on the map for voters canonical: https://time.com/4428920/climate-change-james-cameron-dnc/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-28T17:53:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:44:31.171Z article:section: Politics og:title: James Cameron Wants to Make Climate Change an Election Year Issue og:description: 'The Titanic' director called Trump a "madman" og:url: https://time.com/4428920/climate-change-james-cameron-dnc/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a53b936e3e07a30/6988a022ab6d775e3f6aab49/james-cameron-climate-change.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2857 og:image:height: 1607 og:image:alt: james cameron climate change DNC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: James Cameron Wants to Make Climate Change an Election Year Issue twitter:description: 'The Titanic' director called Trump a "madman" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a53b936e3e07a30/6988a022ab6d775e3f6aab49/james-cameron-climate-change.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # James Cameron Wants to Make Climate Change an Election Year Issue > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=79644889-6d81-4e0f-bde7-9a82337d6ccd&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Not Reality TV by James Cameron (2) [Watch (HLS stream): Not Reality TV by James Cameron (2)](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HY5QZ8Tu.m3u8) (5:27)  _Published 2016-07-28_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 28, 2016 5:53 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 28, 2016 5:53 PM UTC Filmmaker and climate change activist James Cameron described Donald Trump’s campaign as a unique opportunity to put climate change on the map for voters hours before a mini-documentary on the issue was set to air at the [Democratic National Convention](http://time.com/4424365/dnc-hillary-clinton-nomination/) (DNC). “If Trump is a declared denier, and he is, it’s unequivocal, now you’ve got some leverage for a swing voter,” said Cameron on a conference call for journalists. “I think you’ve got an angle of attack.” Cameron’s [short documentary](http://notrealitytv.org/)—entitled _Not Reality TV_—aimed to do just that. The five-and-a-half minute film presents visuals of climate-related devastation along with voices calling attention to the issue from the likes of Pope Francis, George H.W. Bush and scientists. And, like much of the DNC, the video is filled with celebrities—from narration by Sigourney Weaver to an appearance by Jack Black. **Read More**: [Donald Trump Supported Addressing Climate Change Before Calling It a ‘Hoax’](http://time.com/4362393/donald-trump-supported-addressing-climate-change-before-calling-it-a-hoax/) The video also takes aim at Trump calling his position on the issue “dangerous” and showing some of his more [outrageous remarks](http://time.com/4349309/donald-trump-bismarck-energy-speech/) on the topic. On the call, Cameron described Trump as “incredibly reckless” and a “madman.” Cameron has worked to bring attention to the issue as an executive producer on the show [_Years of Living Dangerously_](http://time.com/58074/years-of-living-dangerously-tries-to-close-the-climate-gap/), which highlights different places affected by climate change—as well as possible climate change solutions—each episode. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] We all know it's happening. It's real. It's happening now. [ MUSIC ] The droughts. The storms, the floods, the fires, the record heat waves. This is not something we've seen before. [ MUSIC ] There is a wake up call here. There is a reality that has existed for a long time, that we have been blind to. This breaks my heart. We shouldn't have to be going through this, it's not our fault. I thought it needed to rain last year, I thought it was just another dry spell and we'd be out of it. That adds one of them dry spells. Harvest was done in Kansas almost by the time it normally started. It was like somebody flipped a switch. [ MUSIC ] And it quit raining and got warm, and it just stayed that way. Crops are failing. Food prices are rising. Communities are threatened. Our children are at risk. 2015 was the worst wildfire season on record with more than 10 million acres burned. Because of global warming, mountain snow now melts earlier each year. And when that happens, the ground dries up earlier too. How much do you think has to do with global warming? You can't deny the fact that it's getting warmer and drier. It had, over the last century, was an extra foot of sea level largely as a result of climate change. [ SOUND ] She said mommy, hold me, I'm scared. And I did, I held her. And then a wave started coming up. Over me. I felt the water rising and we went under. And I knew I lost her immediately because I knew she couldn't get up again. I'm a Christian. I'm conservative in many ways, and I also believe that climate change is real. A thermometer Thermometer is not Republican. A thermometer is not Democrat. Eventually Miami will be under water. It's just a matter of when. The sea level, it's gonna rise and Miami won't be here when it rises. There is no doubt that climate change is a threat to our national security. We all know that human Activities are changing the atmosphere in unexpected and in unprecedented ways. If I may use a strong word, I would say that we're at the limits of suicide. This is the painful reality Of a world radically altered by climate change. It's not reality TV. Make no mistake, Trump's reckless denial of climate change is dangerous. A threat to your livelihood, your safety, your children, and the prosperity of this nation. All of this with the global warming and the that, a lot of it's a hoax. It's a hoax. There's no doubt in my mind the damage from Sandy was worse because global warming caused the sea level to be higher. I am not Not a believer in climate change. We used to have seasons back then. Now we don't. We're going to cancel the Paris climate agreement. The same people that don't want to believe in that science believe in science when they need to take a pill. And we're getting warmer faster and faster, we're heading into an unknown future like we never put ourselves in before. [ SOUND ] Speaking of global warming, where is we need some global warming it's freezing. [ MUSIC ] We are the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and we are the last generation They can do something about it. As Americans, we face challenges head on. Our country is ready to tackle the challenge of climate change. Together we can make America the world's clean energy super power. I heard you say that you think they're beautiful because of what they symbolize. Yeah, what they represent. The ability to generate electricity without putting carbon in the air. We can run our homes, our cars, our businesses, on clean power. And create millions of new jobs doing it. Half a billion solar panels across the country, in the next four years. And enough renewable energy to power every home in America within the next ten. I'm not going to let anyone take us backward, deny our clean energy future, or hand our children a dangerous world destabilized by climate change. Together we can do this, for our future, for our children. 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