Titanic and Avatar director says ‘America doesn’t stand for anything if it doesn’t stand for what it has historically stood for’ – and that he prefers New Zealand to Canada

James Cameron has voiced his relief that he is becoming a New Zealand citizen in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s re-election as US president, saying that America under Trump is “a turn away from everything decent”.

Asked how worried he was about Trump’s second term, the 70-year-old film-maker told New Zealand outlet Stuff: “I think it’s horrific, I think it’s horrifying … I see it as a turn away from everything decent. America doesn’t stand for anything if it doesn’t stand for what it has historically stood for. It becomes a hollow idea, and I think they’re hollowing it out as fast as they can for their own benefit.”