- December 13, 2019
- Posted by: EuIndia Chambers
- Category: News
After President Donald Trump lashed out at Greta Thunberg a day after she was named Time‘s youngest person of the year, the 16-year-old climate activist changed her Twitter bio to hit back at the US president.
In a Thursday morning tweet, Trump called Thunberg’s selection “ridiculous” and said: “Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend!” He added: “Chill Greta, Chill!”
Thunberg responded by changing her Twitter profile bio to read: “A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.”
The Swedish teenager has become a symbol of a growing movement of young climate activists after leading weekly school strikes in her country that inspired similar actions in about 100 cities worldwide. She has drawn large crowds with her fiery appearances at protests and conferences over the past year and a half.
She has been outspoken about her diagnosis with Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder associated with high intelligence and impaired social skills. “I have Asperger’s and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm,” she tweeted this year. “And — given the right circumstances — being different is a superpower.”
This is Trump’s second jibe against Thunberg. In September, after the 16-year-old’s speech at a United Nations Climate Action Summit, Trump tweeted, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” That was the first time Thunberg updated her Twitter bio after an attack by Trump.
It’s not the first time Trump has complained after not being recognized for his influence. In 2015, Trump attacked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for “ruining Germany” after she was named Person of the Year when he was listed as a runner-up.
Trump is the second world leader to take aim at Thunberg this week. Her concern over the slayings of indigenous Brazilians in the Amazon drew a harsh rebuke from Brazil’s president on Tuesday.
“Greta said that the Indians died because they were defending the Amazon,” Jair Bolsonaro said. “It’s impressive that the press is giving space to a brat like that,” he added, using the Portuguese “pirralha.” Thunberg responded by changing her bio on Twitter, where she has over 3 million followers, to say “Pirralha.”