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Greta Thunberg Was Asked If She Could Ever Be Friends With Trump—And She Didn't Mince Words

Greta Thunberg Was Asked If She Could Ever Be Friends With Trump—And She Didn't Mince Words
Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images; Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Climate activist Greta Thunberg isn't looking to bury the hatchet with former President Donald Trump anytime soon—or ever.

Asked by The Guardian whether she could be friends with Trump, Thunberg had this to say:

"Well, I don't think we would enjoy each other's company that much. We have very different interests."

That's putting it mildly.

Trump's administration rolled back environmental protections and downplayed if not outright denied the impacts of anthropogenic climate change.

Thunberg and Trump sparred publicly during his time in office.

In 2019, after Time named Thunberg their person of the year, Trump denounced the decision, saying Thunberg, who is known to speak bluntly in public forums, "must work on her Anger Management problem."

Thunberg would later use Trump's exact words against him when he demanded a recount of the 2020 election results.


Social media users haven't forgotten this either.

They responded with praise for Thunberg and criticism for the former President and those who have contributed to climate denialism.



It's safe to say Thunberg wouldn't befriend any climate deniers—period.

She even said she used to be in denial about climate change herself:

"When I first heard about it, I didn't think it was real because if it was real, people would do something about it. It didn't add up to me."

Trump wasn't the only world leader Thunberg criticized in her interview.

Thunberg believes praise for New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern—who has referred to climate change as a matter of "life or death"—is evidence of "how little" people understand the climate crisis.

"Obviously the emissions haven't fallen. It goes without saying that these people are not doing anything."

The Guardian interview came on the heels of Thunberg's criticism of President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" climate plan after Biden's appearance at the United Nations last week.

Thunberg was firm the climate crisis is not something humanity can "build, buy or invest our way out of."