The legendary anthropologist Jane Goodall, renowned for her groundbreaking and lifelong work on chimpanzees, passed away on October 2 at the age of 91. While she was probably the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, she also brought her knowledge to the world of humans. In fact, some years ago, she gave a verdict on Donald Trump and made a not-so-charming comparison.
The renowned conservationist and anthropologist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91. She became known worldwide for her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees, which completely transformed our understanding of them.
Sadly, during a stop on her speaking tour across California, the legendary British scientist died of natural causes, the Jane Goodall Institute announced Wednesday,
“The Jane Goodall Institute has learned this morning, Wednesday, October 1, 2025, that Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, has passed away due to natural causes,” the organization wrote on Instagram.
Jane Goodall has been outspoken about many subjects throughout her life, and in recent years, one of those subjects has been the President of the United States, Donald Trump. However, the statements she’s made about him have not been that charming.
For example, in 2016, during Donald’s first presidential campaign, Goodall drew a comparison between him and the monkeys she had studied, saying, “In many ways the performances of Donald Trump remind me of male chimpanzees and their dominance rituals.”
Jane Goodall shared her true feelings on Donald Trump
She told the Atlantic, “In order to impress rivals, males seeking to rise in the dominance hierarchy perform spectacular displays: stamping, slapping the ground, dragging branches, throwing rocks. The more vigorous and imaginative the display, the faster the individual is likely to rise in the hierarchy, and the longer he is likely to maintain that position.”
Jane Goodall’s remarks on who then was a presidential candidate created a lot of stir at the time. But she wasn’t done.
Years later, in an interview with MSNBC in 2022, she was reminded of her past comments. As the host, Ari Melber, played a clip of Trump hugging and kissing the American flag, calling himself a “perfect physical specimen,” the scientist was at it again.
“I see the same sort of behaviour as a male chimpanzee will show when he is competing for dominance with another,” Jane Goodall said and laughed. “They’re upright, they swagger, they project themselves as really more large and aggressive than they may actually be in order to intimidate their rivals,” Goodall added.
She continued with a comment about her view of the state of the US, saying, “I see that the divisiveness that’s being created in America is a tragedy and it is a tragedy that can have a ripple effect around the world.”
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