President Trump and Greta Thunberg’s Twitter battle could be coming to life Tuesday onstage at the World Economic Forum taking place in Davos, Switzerland.
The American president and the 17-year-old Swedish climate activist will share the venue during the opening day of the conference, which marks its 50th year.
‘I think both voices are necessary,’ World Economic Forum Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab told the Associated Press Sunday.
For Trump, Davos could come as a welcome escape as the U.S. Senate will kick off his impeachment trial in the hours following the president’s Tuesday address.
In recent years, Davos has cued groans for its elite brew of heads of state, corporate leaders and celebrities who are ferried by private jets to the tiny Switzerland ski town to talk about about big-picture ideas while staying in $500 hotel rooms and attending private dinners.
President Trump is headed back to the World Economic Forum on Tuesday in Davos, Switzerland. He appeared at the conference of world leaders in 2018, but skipped the event last year due to the ongoing government shutdown
Appearing at the World Economic Forum at the same day as President Trump is 17-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was named Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ in 2019
President Trump took to Twitter last month to call it ‘ridiculous’ that the climate activist got the honor. Trump was Time’s person of the year in 2016 after his shock win of the presidential election
Greta Thunberg replied by briefly changing her Twitter bio to mimic the words President Trump had used calling herself ‘A teenager working on her anger management problem’
Thousands of people – including heads of state, business leaders and celebrities – descend on Davos, Switzerland every year for the World Economic Forum. President Trump will make his second appearance as president on Tuesday
Preparations are being made in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum’s 50th year. President Trump is due at the conference on Tuesday and Wednesday
Climate activists march in Switzerland in advance of the World Economic Forum set to kick off Tuesday in Davos, Switzerland
The same mix of leaders and the well-to-do are expected at this year’s event, which will be heavy on climate change chatter with the appearance of Thunberg and former Vice President Al Gore.
There have also been climate protests in Switzerland in the run-up to the summit.
Trump – who’s returning to the conference after skipping it last year – has deregulated the U.S. in terms of fossil fuels and pulled the country out of the Paris climate agreement, has also made Thunberg a target.
Last month, Trump reacted to the teenager being named Time magazine’s 2019 ‘Person of the Year’ by mocking her serious demeanor.
Trump shared a congratulatory tweet about Thunberg’s win from actress Roma Downey.
‘So ridiculous,’ the president responded. ‘Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!’
Thunberg responded by briefly changing her Twitter bio to read: ‘A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.’
Trump had also weighed in September after Thunberg made a passionate plea to world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly to do something about the warming earth.
Greta Thunberg’s (center) expression when she saw President Trump (left) enter the United Nations in September went viral and became a meme
President Trump had also tweeted about Greta Thunberg in September when he mocked her for being hysterical during her address to the United Nations General Assembly
‘I shouldn’t be up here,’ Thunberg said at the time. ‘I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope? How dare you!’ she exclaimed.
Trump then tweeted a video of Thunberg’s speech. ‘People are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth,’ Thunberg had said.
‘She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!’ Trump said sarcastically.
Thunberg changed her Twitter bio then as well, calling herself ‘a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.’
However Thunberg’s expression when she saw Trump entering the U.N. the day she gave her speech was not-so-happy.
The stink eye Thunberg gave the American president went viral online.
Trump has gotten a mixed reaction on the world stage, including at Davos.
His criticism of the media during his 2018 appearance elicited a mix of boos and groans from the audience.
Several months later, during an appearance at the United Nations General Assembly – the gathering where he ran into Thunberg a year later – members of the audience, which included heads of state, laughed out loud at Trump’s bombast.
‘In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than any administration in the history of out country,’ Trump touted to laughter.
‘So true,’ he added. ‘Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s OK.’
And then there was the incident at the NATO summit where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught on hot mic discussing Trump’s behavior at the summit.
Trudeau was describing to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanual Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte how Trump essentially holds a press conference before his bilateral meetings with world leaders. The group was seen having a laugh.
Trump called the Canadian PM’s behavior ‘two-faced.’ Trudeau fessed up to it.
‘Last night I made reference to the fact that there was an unscheduled press conference before my meeting with President Trump. I was happy to be part of it but it was certainly notable,’ Trudea said in a press conference the next day.
The moment inspired a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit that featured actor Paul Rudd as Macron and Jimmy Fallon as Trudeau, who bully Trump – played by Alec Baldwin – in the U.N. cafeteria – and ask Kate McKinnon’s Angela Merkel to sit with them instead.
The Trumps had some hiccups on the world stage in 2019, including when the French government showed this clip of Ivanka Trump being snubbed by world leaders including French President Emmanual Macron
Another incident, from the NATO summit in December, inspired this ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit, in which Jimmy Fallon as Justin Trudeau, Paul Rudd as Emmanual Macron and James Corbin as Boris Johnson pick on Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump in the U.N. cafeteria
The SNL skit concludes with the leaders taping an ‘Impeach Me!!!’ sign to Alec Baldwin’s back. Trump was impeached later that month and his Senate trial begins Tuesday, the same day he’ll give a main stage address at Davos
The incident also called back to the video shared by the Frech government that showed Ivanka Trump being snubbed by leaders including Macron, Christine Lagarde, who now serves as the president of the European Central Bank, and then U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.
As the first daughter tries to engage in the discussion, talking excitedly with her hands, she’s largely ignored, the video clip from the July G-20 showed.
Both Trumps are heading to Davos.
Ivanka Trump is a member of the seven-person delegation announced to represent the U.S. at Davos before even the president committed to attend.
She tweeted about her participation Monday.
‘Headed to Davos to call on the world’s largest employers to sign our #PledgetoAmericasWorkers and join us in unleashing the potential of our people and accelerating the historic wave of opportunity, wage growth and job creation in the United States,’ Ivanka Trump wrote.
The president can use the opportunity to steer heads away from the Senate impeachmen trial, which will kick off in the hours following his Davos speech.
Trump is also due to host a dinner and will participate in several bilateral meetings with leaders during his two-day stay in Switzerland.
He’ll have the benefit of not having an awkward run-in with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who dropped out Monday.
The Iranians are blaming organizers who they claim ‘abruptly changed its agenda’ for the summit.
Trump has taken a victory lap for the American drone strike in Iraq that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, a move that brought the countries to the brink of war.
At the summit Trump will, however, be meeting with Iraqi President Barham Salih and Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government – two important meetings that could impact America’s future in the Middle East.
The White House also announced Monday that Trump would sit down with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Schwab.