It may have taken almost 24 hours, but to the surprise of no one
Donald Trump has made his feelings known about Greta Thunberg’s appointment as Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.
Trump – who has been prone to a tantrum or two over the years after the annual announcement – described Thunberg’s recognition as “so ridiculous” on Twitter.
Apparently unprompted, the president retweeted a congratulatory message written by author Roma Downey, and launched into an attack on her “Anger Management problem”.
He wrote: “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, 2019Sixteen-year-old Thunberg began taking action on climate change by skipping school and embarking on a solo protest outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018.
In the months since, she has come to symbolise a global movement – led by young people – demanding radical action to address the climate emergency.
It’s not the first time Thunberg has been targeted by the US president online – back in December he sarcastically described her as a “a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future” – but thankfully she’s not shy about responding in her own understated way.
Just minutes after Trump’s tweet, the teenage activist had changed her
Twitter bio to “a teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.” greta illustrates once again that olds will never be able to mess online with kids who grew up on the internet pic.twitter.com/EPJOSGIZeG— David Mack (@davidmackau) December 12, 2019Receiving the title is by no means a measure of positive impact – something the magazine makes very clear on its website, stating that it is awarded to “the person or group of people who had the greatest influence on the events of the year—for better or worse.”
Previous winners have included widely celebrated figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. (1963) and the Apollo 8 astronauts (1968) but also the computer (1982), the endangered earth (1988), and Adolf Hitler (1938).
Trump has received the award in the past, winning the accolade in 2016 a month after being elected president – but that doesn’t seem to have quenched his obsession with the title.
In 2012, he tweeted that the magazine had “lost all credibility” for failing to include him in their top 100, and in 2015 expressed disappointment that despite being the “big favourite”,
Angela Merkel (“ruining Germany”, apparently) had been selected. I knew last year that @TIME Magazine lost all credibility when they didn't include me in their Top 100...— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 26, 2012When his time came in 2016 he called it a “great honour” – but it didn’t end there.
Just a year later he was back to his old tricks, claiming that Time Magazine had called to tell him he was “probably” going to be named Person of the Year again, but he “took a pass”. Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named “Man (Person) of the Year,” like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2017His claim was debunked pretty hastily by the magazine itself, with then-chief content editor Alan Murray stating that there was “not a speck of truth” in his allegations. Amazing. Not a speck of truth here—Trump tweets he 'took a pass' at being named TIME's person of the year https://t.co/D6SJgyTpcY— Alan Murray (@alansmurray) November 25, 2017The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6.— TIME (@TIME) November 25, 2017Perhaps in a bid to make the leader of the free world not making the front cover of a magazine, a verified Twitter account run by his campaign team took matters into their own hands and photoshopped the head of Trump – a 73-year-old man – onto Thunberg’s cover. When it comes to keeping his promises, there's only one Person Of The Year:✅Booming Economy✅Record
Job Creation✅Historic Tax Cuts✅#AmericaFirst Trade Deals✅ISIS Destroyed✅Building the Wall#TIMEPOY#PromisesMadePromisesKeptpic.twitter.com/pe1CNB7KKz— Trump War Room (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TrumpWarRoom) December 11, 2019With the recent news that the
Democrats would be bringing two articles of impeachment against Trump, perhaps its no surprise that the president wasn’t exactly first in line for this year’s accolade. Related... Alicia Keys Is On Fire As She Lays Into Donald Trump During Musical Recap Of 2019 House Democrats Unveil Articles Of Impeachment Against Donald Trump Trump Says His Border Wall 'Can't Be Climbed'. Watch This