‘Chill Greta, Chill!’ Donald Trump mocks teen global warming hero Greta Thunberg

President Donald Trump lashed out at 16-year-old global warming activist Greta Thunberg on Thursday and tiold her to ‘chill,’ as he called her Time magazine ‘Person of the Year’ award ‘ridiculous.’ 

Thunberg has made herself the subject of Internet memes and conservative criticism by calling a nationwide school ‘strike’ in Sweden over climate politics and lecturing United Nations leaders in loud, biting tones about carbon emissions.

‘Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!’ Trump tweeted

The president was responding to Christian filmmaker Roma Downey, who tweeted the Time cover with the word ‘Congrats.’ 

This year’s short list included Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Hong Kong’s democracy protesters. 

Asked Wednesday if the White House had a comment about the president losing the honor to Thunberg, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley emailed the DailyMail.com: ‘Huh?!?’

Thunberg is the magazine’s youngest-ever Person of the Year, a title that still sparks Internet curiosity one day each year despite the steep decline of magazine sales.

She is the face of the youth climate movement, drawing large crowds with her appearances at protests and conferences since last year. 

Her angry accusations that world leaders are failing the younger generation have made headlines, including her shouts of ‘How dare you?’ during the UN General Assembly this year.   

President Donald Trump mocked 16-year-old Swedish global warming activist Greta Thunberg on Thursday after Time magazine named her its ‘Person of the Year’

'Chill Greta, Chill!' the president jabbed in a tweet, criticizing the angry, lecturing tone that characterizes many of her speeches

‘Chill Greta, Chill!’ the president jabbed in a tweet, criticizing the angry, lecturing tone that characterizes many of her speeches

Time named Thunberg its 2019 'Person of the Year,' putting her above Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Time named Thunberg its 2019 ‘Person of the Year,’ putting her above Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Thunberg has routinely accused political and business leaders of polishing their images rather than being aggressive about climate change

Thunberg has routinely accused political and business leaders of polishing their images rather than being aggressive about climate change

An image of her staring at Donald Trump as he entered the UN quickly became a social media meme. 

Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal told the Today show: ‘She became the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet this year, coming from essentially nowhere to lead a worldwide movement.’

Politicians have, by and large, praised Thunberg, who has Asperger’s syndrome, and her movement as an important voice of her generation.

Former Vice President Al Gore said Wednesday: ‘Brilliant decision for @TIME to choose @GretaThunberg as its Person of the Year. 

‘Greta embodies the moral authority of the youth activist movement demanding that we act immediately to solve the climate crisis. She is an inspiration to me and to people across the world.’

The schoolgirl was seen at UN headquarters in September with an enraged expression on her face as President Trump upstaged her entrance by walking in flanked by news reporters

The schoolgirl was seen at UN headquarters in September with an enraged expression on her face as President Trump upstaged her entrance by walking in flanked by news reporters

Editor Felsenthal said Thunberg ‘represents a broader generational shift in the culture’, adding: ‘She embodies youth activism’. 

Short list for TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – central to the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump – named TIME Person of the Year in 2016 and the 45th president of the United States. 

The Whistleblower – the anonymous CIA officer who reported Trump’s call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky 

The Hong Kong Protesters – mass protests first erupted in June against planned legislation that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled court. 

Greta Thunberg – winner  

The magazine says: ‘In the 16 months since, she has addressed heads of state at the U.N., 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.’  

‘For sounding the alarm about humanity’s predatory relationship with the only home we have, for bringing to a fragmented world a voice that transcends backgrounds and borders, for showing us all what it might look like when a new generation leads, Greta Thunberg is TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year,’ the media franchise said Wednesday on its website. 

Last year The Guardians, journalists targeted or assaulted for their work, were handed the title. In 2017 it was The Silence Breakers, those who spoke out as part of the Me Too movement.  

Thunberg was in Madrid on Wednesday, where she addressed negotiators at the U.N.’s COP25 climate talks. 

There she accused political and business leaders of polishing their images rather than taking aggressive action in the fight against climate change at the UN climate talks.

Thunberg's accusations that leaders are failing younger generations have made headlines, including her shouts of 'How dare you?' at the U.N. General Assembly

Thunberg’s accusations that leaders are failing younger generations have made headlines, including her shouts of ‘How dare you?’ at the U.N. General Assembly

In a speech the teenager also criticized governments for avoiding taking action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and ‘not behaving as if we are in an emergency’.

Greta said: ‘The biggest danger is not inaction; the real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like real action is happening, when in fact almost nothing is being done apart from clever accounting and creative PR.’

She said the science showed that, at the current rate of emissions, the world is set to use up the whole ‘carbon budget’ – the amount of pollution that can be put into the atmosphere and still keep global warming to 1.5C – in eight years.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, arrives in New York after a 15-day journey crossing the Atlantic in the Malizia II, a zero-carbon yacht in August  

Thunberg speaks at a climate protest outside the White House in September

Thunberg speaks at a climate protest outside the White House in September 

 

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