Greta Thunberg says Trump’s attacks on her are ‘hilarious’ attempt to deflect from climate crisis

Politicians ‘try to shift the subject’, says 18-year-old Swedish activist

Climate activist Greta Thunberg (ITV /GMB)

Greta Thunberg has accused Donald Trump and other global leaders of engaging in personal attacks against her in an attempt to shift the focus away from the reality of the climate crisis.

The 18-year-old climate campaigner said she had found it “hilarious” when the former US president and other politicians had criticised her activism and fierce condemnation of government inaction.

Last year Mr Trump said the teenager needed to “chill” and go see an “old-fashioned movie”. Following his meltdown over the US election defeat, Ms Thunberg responded to him with the Twitter riposte: “Chill Donald, Chill!”

Asked on Good Morning Britain if she took any satisfaction from her response to Mr Trump, Ms Thunberg said: “I don’t see it as ‘I want revenge’ or something. I try, as much as I can, to not speak about individuals. Because that’s what they [politicians] do.”

She added: “But of course, it is very hilarious when they write and say these kinds of things. It’s a very clear sign that they are seeing the climate movement as threats, and rather than speaking about the climate crisis itself, they try to shift the subject to someone like me.”

The Swedish activist was speaking ahead of the airing of BBC series Greta Thunberg: A Year To Change The World, which follows her journey during a year off school in 2019 as she challenged world leaders to take action.

Over three episodes, the 18-year-old witnessed first-hand the consequences of climate change and also meets climate experts, among them naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.

Asked if she had come to terms with all the attention she has received since she kickstarted the global School Strike for Climate movement almost three years ago, she said: “I don’t really understand it … it’s very strange.”

The 18-year-old added: “I’m very surprised that the attention has stayed on for so long, that people have keep on listening to what I’m saying. I thought people would get tired of me after a few months .... I have no idea why that is. I’m not that unique.

“It’s not just me who has done this. I have done this together with millions of other young people around the world.”

Greta Thunberg at Swedish parliament protest (AFP via Getty Images)

Ms Thunberg also said on Friday that she does not plan to attend the crucial COP26 UN climate conference in Glasgow this November. She told the BBC the event should be postponed until global Covid vaccination rates have risen.

“This [conference] needs to happen in the right way. Of course, the best thing to do would be to get everyone vaccinated as soon as possible so that everyone could take part on the same terms.”

The young activist said she was “happy” to be doing something meaningful with her life, dismissing the characterisation of her “an emotional, angry teenager”.

Ms Thunberg also said people would be wrong to assume that researching the daunting scale of the climate crisis was depressing. “I feel good doing this,” she said. “You feel good when you feel like you are doing something meaningful.”

She added: “I don’t know one single person who actually regrets that they read about the climate crisis, that they are now a climate activist. More than it gets you depressed – a hundred times more I would say – it gets you motivated because it gives meaning to your life and that makes you happy.”