Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg said she “wouldn’t have wasted” her time if given the opportunity to discuss climate change with President Trump at the United Nations climate summit earlier this year.
Ms. Thunberg, 16, of Sweden, became the star of a viral meme in September after she was spotted glaring at the U.S. president as he arrived in the lobby of the U.N. after she had delivered an impassioned speech shaming global leaders for their inaction on climate change.
During an interview Monday with BBC radio’s “Today,” Ms. Thunberg was asked what she would have said to the president if she had the chance to speak with him that day.
“Honestly, I don’t think I would have said anything because he’s obviously not listening to scientists and experts — why would he listen to me?” she said. “So I probably wouldn’t have said anything, I wouldn’t have wasted my time.”
The teen was asked to weigh in on the criticism she’s received since becoming the face of climate activism, including from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who called her a “brat,” and Mr. Trump, who said she needed to work on her “anger management problem.”
“Those attacks are just funny because, I mean, they obviously don’t mean anything,” Ms. Thunberg said. “Well, I guess of course it means something — it means that they are terrified of young people bringing change which they don’t want — but that is just proof that we are actually doing something and that they see us as some kind of threat.”
