Greta Thunberg Says Discussing Climate Change with Donald Trump Would've 'Wasted My Time'
Environmental activist Greta Thunberg isn’t going to bother educating those who refuse to listen — the U.S. president included.
Speaking with the BBC Radio show Today on Monday, Thunberg, 16, spoke about her activism and spreading awareness on climate change.
When asked what she would say to President Donald Trump if the two were ever to share a sit-down, her response was clear in disregarding politicians unwilling to listen to calls to action on reversing climate change.
“Honestly, I don’t think I would have said anything because obviously he’s not listening to scientists and experts, so why would he listen to me?” said Thunberg, who added: “So I probably wouldn’t have said anything — I wouldn’t have wasted my time.”
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Trump, 73, attacked the Swedish teen activist on social media earlier this month, calling her selection as Time magazine’s Person of the Year “ridiculous.”
“Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” tweeted the president, a noted climate change denier.
Before too long, Thunberg clapped back with a revised Twitter bio: “A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.”
She responded similarly after Trump’s dig at her in September, when he tweeted, sarcastically, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.”
During her BBC Radio appearance, Thunberg dismissed those criticisms as signs that her advocacy threatens their stances.
“Those attacks are just funny because they obviously don’t mean anything,” she said on Monday. “I guess, of course, it means something: They are terrified of young people bringing change which they don’t want.”
Thunberg continued: “But that is just proof that we are actually doing something and that they see us as some kind of threat.”
A teenager who has become one of the global faces of the urgency and — in her words — woeful inadequacy of the world’s response to climate change, Thunberg made international headlines throughout 2019.
Last year, she began “striking” from school to raise awareness about climate change. That has inspired numerous other such protests.
“I think most people are still very unaware of how big this crisis is,” Thunberg told PEOPLE earlier this year. “Right now, I have a lot of people listening to what I am saying, so I am using that platform to try to achieve a change.”
