Trump Enrages Greta Thunberg Supporters with Response to 'Person of the Year' Selection: 'Chill Greta, Chill'
President Donald Trump affirmed his status as politically incorrect on Thursday by chiding teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg after she was named “Person of the Year” by Time magazine.
“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.
So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill! https://t.co/M8ZtS8okzE
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2019
Thunberg was catapulted to international fame after her August sailboat voyage across the Atlantic Ocean made the 16-year-old a global icon of young climate change activists.
She has since gone on to address the United Nations and called for radical actions to address climate change.
Time, in announcing her selection, noted: “Her image has been celebrated in murals and Halloween costumes, and her name has been attached to everything from bike shares to beetles. Margaret Atwood compared her to Joan of Arc. After noticing a hundredfold increase in its usage, lexicographers at Collins Dictionary named Thunberg’s pioneering idea, climate strike, the word of the year.”
.@GretaThunberg is TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year #TIMEPOY https://t.co/YZ7U6Up76v pic.twitter.com/SWALBfeGl6
— TIME (@TIME) December 11, 2019
“I want you to panic,” she told the World Economic Forum earlier this year. “I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act.”
Thunberg has ignited a movement she hopes will change the world.
“People are underestimating the force of angry kids,” she said after crossing the Atlantic in November, sailing from Virginia to Portugal. “We are angry and frustrated, and that is because of good reason. If they want us to stop being angry then maybe they should stop making us angry.”
There was no shortage of anger after the president’s tweet, with one user, after the requisite profanity, alleging, “She accomplished more in 16 years than you have in 71.”
What kind of grown man decides to write this tweet and then send it? What kind of President tells a child to chill when she’s trying to save the planet? And maybe most importantly, who still supports this man? #LeaveGretaAlone
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 12, 2019
She won. She is the Time Person of the Year – and you are not. In the absence of American leadership, Greta is leading nations to address our planet’s greatest challenge. Get informed. Know the science and you will understand her importance. #envy
— Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) December 12, 2019
.@GretaThunberg is a child. A girl. Someone with Asperger syndrome. And she’s an inspiration. You’re the United States president. And you inspire no one. And you’re a scourge on the world. #Trump #GretaThunberg
— Andy Ostroy (@AndyOstroy) December 12, 2019
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign decided to have a little fun with the Time cover, substituting Trump’s head for that of Thunberg.
When it comes to keeping his promises, there’s only one Person Of The Year:
✅Booming Economy
✅Record Job Creation
✅Historic Tax Cuts
✅#AmericaFirst Trade Deals
✅ISIS Destroyed
✅Building the Wall#TIMEPOY #PromisesMadePromisesKept pic.twitter.com/bEt9yqInqY— Trump War Room (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TrumpWarRoom) December 12, 2019
Climate change supporters have said Thunberg is transforming their movement.
“This moment does feel different,” former Vice President Al Gore told Time. “Throughout history, many great morally based movements have gained traction at the very moment when young people decided to make that movement their cause.”
Thunberg offered her reply to Trump on her Twitter bio.
“A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend,” her bio reads.
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