Leonardo DiCaprio has never been a friend to the Right. The Academy Award winner’s most recent film, the climate change documentary “Before the Flood,” was recently screened at the White House for President Obama — and while there, DiCaprio took a thinly veiled shot at Donald Trump, who then was still running for the presidency.
“If you do not believe in climate change, you do not believe in facts, or in science or empirical truths and therefore, in my humble opinion, should not be allowed to hold public office,” said DiCaprio.
But this week, DiCaprio went to Trump Tower in Manhattan to meet with Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump, and Terry Tamminent, CEO of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation — which works to combat global warming. The meeting is more a credit to Trump than anything else — and his ability and willingness to reach out to many different people of many different persuasions for the good of America.
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The star and environmentalist has come under recent scrutiny for his foundation’s involvement in a massive embezzlement case run by the Department of Justice. The foundation has also long withstood controversy about not disclosing where specifically its enormous funds go.
The meeting between Trump and DiCaprio was related to growing jobs and investing in renewable energy. In a statement to the Associated Press, Tamminen said, “Today, we presented the president-elect and his advisers with a framework — which LDF developed in consultation with leading voices in the fields of economics and environmentalism — that details how to unleash a major economic revival across the United States that is centered on investments in sustainable infrastructure.”
He added, “Our conversation focused on how to create millions of secure, American jobs in the construction and operation of commercial and residential clean, renewable energy generation.”
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The Associated Press said DiCaprio had previously met with Ivanka Trump and presented her with a copy of his documentary, “Before the Flood.”
After his 90-minute meeting with the president-elect, DiCaprio also presented him with the movie — and the real estate mogul promised to watch it.
The meeting even went so well, from all accounts, that Trump asked to meet again in a month.
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While many in Hollywood are digging their heels into the ground and flat-out refusing to accept Donald Trump as their next president, it’s a positive sign to see a highly vocal and active liberal star like DiCaprio setting aside differences and breaking bread with the president-elect.
It’s also a testament to Trump’s willingness and openness to meet with people who have directly opposed him in the past. Despite Hollywood’s best efforts to stop his victory before the election — this new meeting could at least signify a positive step between Hollywood and Trump. At least some of Hollywood, anyway.
Interestingly, many publications put it this way, as Us Weekly did: “It’s hard to get anything big done in this country without the president’s approval, so DiCaprio met with Trump to la[y] out a ‘framework’ for how the incoming cabinet can be more considerate of the environment.”
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