Leonardo DiCaprio: climate change deniers should not hold public office

The actor Leonardo DiCaprio has said he thinks that those who don’t believe in climate change should not hold public office.

Speaking at the White House ahead of a screening of his new documentary, Before the Flood, DiCaprio said such rejection indicated an inability to engage with the rational world.

“If you don’t believe in climate change, you don’t believe in facts, and science, and empirical truths,” he said.

“And, in my humble opinion, [you] should not be allowed to hold public office.”

The words were interpreted as a slight against presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has frequently tweeted his scepticism – despite denying he had made such claims in last week’s presidential debate.

The film, produced by Martin Scorsese, intends to raise public awareness of climate change. Its director, Fisher Stevens, has said he intends to screen it on college campuses and across swing states, including Florida, where Senator Marco Rubio is up for re-election.

“Rubio is a climate change denier, and we want to get these deniers out of Congress, to make them understand the Paris [climate] accords are important and that we need to do more,” Stevens said.

Before the Flood premiered in September at the Toronto film festival, where DiCaprio told the audience: “We cannot afford, at this critical moment in time, to have leaders in office that do not believe in the modern science of climate change.”