White House Defends Donald Trump’s Attacks On Greta Thunberg Because ‘She’s An Activist’

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The White House has defended President Donald Trump’s attack on Greta Thunberg, saying the harsh criticism of the teenager was fair game because she ‘travels the world giving speeches’.

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham made the comments yesterday, December 13, after the president took to social media to tell the teenage climate activist to ‘chill’.

The criticism came after Trump was passed over for Time Magazine‘s 2019 Person of the Year in favour of 16-year-old Thunberg, who has risen to international fame for her powerful climate activism.

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In the early hours of Thursday morning, Trump tweeted a personal attack on Thunberg – something reminiscent of an immature child, and certainly not something which should be coming from a 73-year-old man who holds the most powerful position in the world.

Addressing his 67.5 million followers, the president spat his dummy out and wrote:

So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!

Responding in the most perfect way, Thunberg immediately changed 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.’

After Trump’s now viral tweet, many questioned why First Lady Melania Trump didn’t condemn Trump’s attack on Thunberg – given that she runs an anti-cyber bullying initiative called #BeBest, and particularly because she previously sharply criticised a witness in Trump’s impeachment inquiry for bringing up her son Barron.

In a statement to CNN‘s Kate Bennett, Grisham emphasised the First Lady and the president ‘communicate differently’, before suggesting it was fair for Trump to attack Thunberg because she’s a public figure.

The statement read:

BeBest is the First Lady’s initiative, and she will continue to use it to do all she can to help children. It is no secret that the President and First Lady often communicate differently – as most married couples do.

Their son is not an activist who travels the globe giving speeches. He is a 13-year-old who wants and deserves privacy.

It’s easy to see why Time chose to award Thunberg – an influential climate activist who has led a global movement – with its award instead of Trump, a man who continually denies that climate change is real and withdrew from the Paris Agreement as soon as he became president.

But hey, I’m sure his online whining will help him achieve something at least – even if it is only massive disrespect from those witnessing it each day.

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Lucy Connolly

A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).