Michelle Obama tells Greta Thunberg to "ignore the doubters" after Trump slams the climate change activist
Michelle Obama tweeted a message of support to Greta Thunberg just a day after President Trump slammed the climate change activist. "Don't let anyone dim your light," the former first lady said in a tweet directed at Thunberg, who earlier this week was named Time's 2019 Person of the Year.
Time said it chose to honor the 16-year-old "for sounding the alarm about humanity's predatory relationship with the only home we have, for bringing to a fragmented world a voice that transcends backgrounds and borders, for showing us all what it might look like when a new generation leads."
.@GretaThunberg, don’t let anyone dim your light. Like the girls I’ve met in Vietnam and all over the world, you have so much to offer us all. Ignore the doubters and know that millions of people are cheering you on.
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) December 13, 2019
Obama cited others, including students she met in Vietnam during a recent trip with Julia Roberts to promote girls' education.
Young female activists have recently become a major subject of discussion, with the likes of the New York Times and Vox discussing their impact.
Mr. Trump, however, took issue with someone like Thunberg being lauded by Time. He tweeted Thursday that it was "so ridiculous" for Thunberg to be recognized as the 2019 person of the year.
"Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!" he tweeted.
She quickly responded by using his own words mockingly in her Twitter profile.
Obama wasn't the first social media user to come to Thunberg's defense. Among others, actor George Takei said, "sore losers gonna be sore." Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, criticized Mr. Trump for his "decision to mock a child – AGAIN," saying it is "beneath the office of the President and an insult to people throughout the world."