Greta Thunberg Literally Doesn't Have Time To "Waste" On Trump
Greta Thunberg and President Donald Trump don't exactly see eye to eye when it comes to the issue of climate change, and the Swedish teen apparently doesn't have plans to sit down with the U.S. leader anytime soon. When asked if she regrets not talking to the POTUS during the United Nations climate summit back in September 2019, the activist didn't mince words. Greta Thunberg's quote about talking to Trump at the U.N. leaves no question about where the 16-year-old climate activist stands on the issue.
Back on Sept. 23, the Swedish student and Trump memorably crossed paths at the Climate Action Summit, where Thunberg was speaking about the effect of climate change on future generations during the United Nations General Assembly (and was caught on camera giving Trump a dirty look). Beyond the death stare that went viral, the world didn't get to see a meaningful interaction between the two — and, according to Thunberg, she doesn't think it would have been worthwhile, anyway.
In an interview on BBC Radio 4 on Monday, Dec. 30, she weighed in on whether she regrets not talking to Trump about the environmental reforms needed to combat climate change, and the answer is no. "Honestly, I don’t think I would have said anything," she said, "because obviously he’s not listening to scientists and experts, so why would he listen to me?"
She added, "I probably wouldn’t have said anything. I wouldn’t have wasted my time." Elite Daily reached out to the White House for comment or response to Thunberg's remarks, but did not immediately hear back.
Trump himself has no shortage of attacks on Thunberg. On Dec. 12, he replied to Thunberg being named as TIME's Person of the Year by tweeting, "Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!" The White House did not reply to Elite Daily's request for comment at the time, but Thunberg finds his messages amusing.
"Those attacks are just funny because they obviously don’t mean anything," she said during the same Dec. 30 interview, also referencing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's recent comment about her being a "brat."
She continued, "I guess of course it means something — 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."
The teen's latest comments echo what she said on Nov. 1, when Ellen DeGeneres asked her if she'd sit down with Trump to talk to him about climate change.
At the time, Thunberg reacted in a similar fashion, point-blank telling the host, "I don’t understand why I would do that." She explained, "I don’t see what I could tell him that he hasn’t already heard, and I just think it would be a waste of time, really."
With the teen activist doubling down on her reasoning, I wouldn't hold your breath over the possibility of Thunberg and Trump meeting face-to-face anytime soon.
