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Trump rally boos Greta Thunberg as he complains he should win Time Person of the Year 'every single year'

'When the world revolves around all of us, we should be chosen'

Clark Mindock
New York
Friday 21 February 2020 01:54 GMT
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Trump says Greta Thunberg 'beat him out on Time Magazine'

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Donald Trump's Colorado Springs rally has booed the name of climate activist Greta Thunberg, who he mentioned as he complained that he should be honoured as Time magazine's Person of the Year every year.

Mr Trump attacked the 17-year-old by noting she had beat him out for the magazine honour in 2019, but noted that he has won in the past. He has previously complained about losing to Ms Thunberg, notably during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland earlier this year.

"This year I got beaten out by Greta — you know Greta?" he said, prompting the boos.

"Last year I got beaten out — I've won it, but when the world revolves around all of us, we should be chosen," he continued, twirling his finger in a circle on stage. "I mean, we've won it. But we should win it every single year."

Mr Trump won the honour in 2016, shortly after his election as president. Men who have won the US presidency have traditionally been named the year they win election (one exception has been made in the past 30 years, when Bill Clinton was not named as person of the year after his re-election win in 1996).

After Mr Trump was named person of the year in 2016, the magazine proceeded to name "The Silence Breakers" and then "The Guardians" as the people of the year. The first of those was in reference to the women who came forward with accusations of sexual abuse and exploitation during the MeToo movement, and the second was in reference to journalists across the globe who have faced persecution, arrest or murder during the course of their reporting.

Mr Trump, a prominent climate change denier, has clashed with Ms Thunberg frequently in the past, after she gained international notoriety for her school strikes that have spread into a movement among young people across the world.

Last year, when the two both attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ms Thumberg was seen glaring at the US president as they passed one another during the proceedings.

For her part, Ms Thunberg has suggested that Mr Trump is not worth her time or energy as she seeks to convince international governments to take the threat of climate change seriously.

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