The conflict between President Trump and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg remains far from resolved. Greta reacted to Trump’s public dismissal of the 22-year-old protester as “strange” and “too angry,” and her answer is making ripples on the internet. Greta Thunberg has once again become the center of global controversy, prompting Donald Trump to quickly weigh in. The 22-year-old Swedish climate activist was deported from Israel on June 10 after reportedly being seized by Israeli troops while sailing to Gaza with humanitarian assistance.
Thunberg says she and 11 other activists were “kidnapped in international waters,” which Israeli officials firmly dispute, calling the endeavor “a selfie yacht” and nothing more than a “media provocation” intended for exposure.
“She’s a young, angry person.”
In a pre-recorded video published on Instagram immediately after the group’s interception, Thunberg can be heard saying, “If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by Israeli occupational forces—or forces that support Israel.”
Speaking to reporters on June 10, Trump was asked if he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had addressed Thunberg during a phone discussion earlier that day.
“She’s a strange person,” he told journalists. “She is a young, furious person. I’m not sure whether the emotion is genuine rage; it’s difficult to believe.”
He did not stop there. “I witnessed what occurred. She’s obviously unique. Anger management. I believe she needs to take an anger management class. That is my key advice for her.
Trump also disputed her charges directly, saying, “I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg.”
Greta’s Response
Many believed that Trump had gone too far by making personal jabs at Greta instead of confronting her opinions, but this did not surprise anyone. Greta was eventually deported following her detention by Israeli soldiers.
During a brief layover in France on her way back to Sweden, Thunberg was surrounded by reporters, who couldn’t stop asking her what she thought about Trump’s new statements. “Well, I believe the world needs a lot more young, angry women, to be honest, especially given what is going on right now.” “That’s what we need the most,” she responded.
Greta Thunberg: ‘I think the world needs a lot more young angry women. With everything going on right now it’s what we need most of’
byu/Miserable-Lizard inthescoop
When asked whether she acknowledged entering Israel illegally, Thunberg clarified:
“I did not realize I had entered the country illegally. I said unequivocally in my testimony that we were abducted in international waters and forced to Israel against our will.”
Thunberg was part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s humanitarian expedition, which aimed to deliver supplies and raise public awareness of the suffering in Gaza. She did not hold back in her statements. In addition to Thunberg, the boat carried numerous noteworthy passengers, including Rima Hassan, a member of the European Parliament; journalist Yanis Mhamdi; Al Jazeera broadcaster Omar Faiad; and FFC organizers Yasemin Acar and Thiago Avila.
“This was a mission of attempting to once again bring aid to Gaza, which is desperately needed,” she told me.
“But also to send solidarity and say that we see you, we see what is happening, and we cannot accept just witnessing all this and doing nothing—that can never be an option..
She didn’t mince words on the present problem either.
“Right now [it is] more important than ever because of the siege and because of the systematic starvation of over two million people and the full-blown live-streamed genocide.”