President Donald Trump attacked climate activist Greta Thunberg in a Thursday tweet prompted by her beating him to be named Time’s Person of the Year.
Trump, 73, told the 16-year-old to “chill” and watch a movie rather than pursue the activism which won her the award, a victory Trump called “ridiculous.”
“So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” Trump tweeted Thursday morning in response to a tweet from author Roma Downey congratulating Thunberg on her win.
The magazine said on Wednesday that Thunberg was awarded the honor after she “began a global movement by skipping school.”
“Starting in August 2018, she spent her days camped out in front of the Swedish Parliament, holding a sign painted in black letters on a white background that read Skolstrejk fr klimatet: ‘School Strike for Climate.'”
“In the 16 months since, she has addressed heads of state at the UN, met with the Pope, sparred with the President of the United States and inspired 4 million people to join the global climate strike on September 20, 2019, in what was the largest climate demonstration in human history.”
Teenager working on anger problems
Soon after Trump’s tweet, Thunberg changed her Twitter biography to reflect the president’s comments, describing herself as: “A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.”
Trump has a long history of criticizing Time’s choice for person of the year, despite having been awarded the honor himself in 2016, shortly after he won the presidency.
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In November 2017, Trump claimed that he had turned down an offer from Time to be Person of the Year for a second consecutive year, because the magazine wanted to interview him.
“Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named “Man (Person) of the Year,” like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass,” he tweeted.
Trump was shortlisted for the award in 2019, alongside Thunberg and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.
