Author George R.R. Martin (pictured above left) says his best-selling “Game of Thrones” novels — which inspired the massively successful HBO series — are all about the threat of climate change.

In an interview with The New York Times, Martin, 70, agreed with a theory presented to him that the fantasy novel series is one giant metaphor for climate change.

“It’s kind of ironic because I started writing ‘Game of Thrones’ all the way back in 1991, long before anybody was talking about climate change. But there is — in a very broad sense — there’s a certain parallel there. And the people in Westeros are fighting their individual battles over power and status and wealth. And those are so distracting them that they’re ignoring the threat of ‘winter is coming,’ which has the potential to destroy all of them and to destroy their world. And there is a great parallel there to, I think, what I see this planet doing here, where we’re fighting our own battles. We’re fighting over issues, important issues, mind you — foreign policy, domestic policy, civil rights, social responsibility, social justice,” said the author.

He continued, “All of these things are important. But while we’re tearing ourselves apart over this and expending so much energy, there exists this threat of climate change, which, to my mind, is conclusively proved by most of the data and 99.9 percent of the scientific community. And it really has the potential to destroy our world. And we’re ignoring that while we worry about the next election and issues that people are concerned about, like jobs. Jobs are a very important issue, of course. All of these things are important issues. But none of them are important if, like, we’re dead and our cities are under the ocean.”

He concluded, “So really, climate change should be the number one priority for any politician who is capable of looking past the next election. But unfortunately, there are only a handful of those. We spend 10 times as much energy and thought and debate in the media discussing whether or not NFL players should stand for the national anthem than this threat that’s going to destroy our world.”

“Game of Thrones” follows a variety of characters battling for a throne in a fantasy world filled with dragons and magic. While these characters fight and scheme for power, an army of warriors risen from the dead — dubbed “white walkers” — gather to the north and present an impending threat for everyone.

Martin also managed to take a shot at President Donald Trump in his interview. He compared the president to Joffrey, arguably the least popular character in “Game of Thrones.” Joffrey was a teenage king who took pleasure in hurting others, and he was one of the first to die in the series.

“I think even during the campaign I said that Trump reminded me most of Joffrey. They have the same level of emotional maturity. And Joffrey likes to remind everyone that he’s king. And he thinks that gives him the ability to do anything. And we’re not an absolute monarchy, like Westeros is,” said Martin. “We’re a constitutional republic. And yet, Trump doesn’t seem to know what that means. He thinks the presidency gives him the power to do anything. And so, yeah, Joffrey is Trump.”

For more on George R.R. Martin and “Game of Thrones,” check out the video below: