‘Chill, Greta!’: Donald Trump’s message to Time person of the year, Greta Thunberg

Donald Trump says it’s ‘ridiculous’ that Time magazine has awarded its person of the year to 16-year-old climate activist.

'Chill, Greta!' … US President Donald Trump (right) has a message for Time magazine's person of the year, Greta Thunberg.

Donald Trump has told Swedish teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg to work on her anger management and go to a movie with a friend after Time magazine named her its Person of the Year.

In a tweet, the president said it was “ridiculous” that the 16-year-old Thunberg had been given such an honour.

“So ridiculous,’ Mr Trump tweeted. “Greta must work on her anger management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, chill!”

So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill! https://t.co/M8ZtS8okzE

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2019

Ms Thunberg, who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, responded by changing her Twitter profile to read: “A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.”

The clash is the latest between the two after Mr Trump mocked the activist in September for her dramatic and theatrical attack on world leaders for not doing enough to slow climate change.

Greta Thunberg's new Twitter bio.

“I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back at school on the other side of the ocean,” Thunberg said in a video from the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, her voice quivering with anger.

“Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and childhood with your empty words.’

The video went viral and won plaudits from climate change activists but was attacked by critics who said it was over the top, dubbing Thunberg a “guru of the Apocalypse”.

After her angry outburst, Mr Trump tweeted sarcastically: “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!”

Mr Trump’s latest criticism of Ms Thunberg caused a storm on social media, with critics pointing out the angry response of first lady Melania Trump this month after a law professor who testified in the impeachment inquiry, Pamela Karlan, made a joke involving 13-year-old Barron Trump.

“A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics,” Ms Trump tweeted. “Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it.”

A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics. Donald Trump, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it. #BeBest pic.twitter.com/nkW6y4EJmw

— Chris Anderson (@mountainmanCHQ) December 12, 2019

Ms Thunberg, who has become the face of the movement to do more to tackle climate change, is the youngest person to be awarded Time’s Person of the Year.’

“Thunberg has become the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet — and the avatar of a broader generational shift in our culture that is playing out everywhere from the campuses of Hong Kong to the halls of Congress in Washington,” Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote.

Ms Thunberg, who refuses to fly to reduce her carbon footprint, sailed across the Atlantic to attend the UN General Assembly in New York and was taken back to Europe in a boat sailed by Australian couple Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks at a climate protest outside the White House in Washington, DC in September. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump, who was named Time’s Person of the Year in 2016 and who was short-listed this year, has taken an interest in the prize for many years.

Fake 2009 Time covers portraying Mr Trump as person of the year were found among his golf clubs and in 2015, when Mr Trump was running for president, he complained on Twitter that the magazine chose German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of him.

“I told you @TIME Magazine would never pick me as person of the year despite being the big favourite,” he tweeted. “They picked (the) person who is ruining Germany.”

Ms Thunberg has said her Asperger’s syndrome makes her “a bit different from the norm” but claims it also is a “superpower” that allows her to focus intensely on an issue.

The activist became known last year when she spent days outside the Swedish Parliament calling for a school strike for climate change. The idea spread to other schools in Sweden and then went global, propelling her to international fame.

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia