

Climate change activist Greta Thunberg is making grown-ups (and Trump) squirm. Good

Greta Thunberg's calls for action at the UN Climate Summit produced few commitments to combat global warming. But she's not done yet.

Elvia Díaz
Opinion contributor

Give it up to President Donald Trump, who couldn’t have the set the stage any better for Greta Thunberg to pull off the greatest publicity stunt.

Trump, the world’s biggest climate change naysayer, dismissively walked past the Swedish teen Monday after her passionate rebuke of world leaders at the United Nations.

She fixed her eyes on him. And the world went nuts.

The video of her staring at Trump went viral, and conservatives like Arizona Republican Party chairwoman Kelli Ward went on the attack, calling her a delusional child.

Others called her everything from a political pawn to a “scary indoctrinated girl.”

Twitter blows up with attacks, defenses

“She is a victim NOT of climate change, but of crappy parents who would allow her to be a pawn in a political game,’’ wrote Graham Allen, a political commentator, on Twitter.

Thunberg supporters stormed social media, too, praising her and condemning her attackers.

“I live in a world where there are people attacking teens like #DavidHogg, who survived a school massacre, and #GretaThunberg, a courageous #climate activist who is changing the world,” wrote Democratic adviser Peter Daou.

Trump himself joined the social media frenzy by retweeting Thunberg's speech late Monday night. 

"She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!" said Trump.

Hard to tell whether Trump was sincere, joking or ridiculing her. It sure would've been nice for him to stop for a second to greet her.

In any case, this is the kind of attention any activist — of any age — could only dream of commanding, thanks in part to Trump.

Teen activists on the side of history

"People are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of the mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you?” the 16-year-old scolded leaders at the UN.

Thunberg’s reproach and others' calls for action at the UN Climate Summit produced few commitments from world leaders to combat global warming.

In the end, though, Greta Thunberg and all the other teens taking up the climate change fight across the world will prove Trump, Ward and the rest of the cynics wrong. 

If nothing else, Thunberg is making the grown-ups squirm – some with anger and disgust, others with shame, over the nerve of her to take up a fight they should be leading.

Elvia Díaz is an editorial columnist for The Republic and azcentral, where this column originally appeared. Follow her on Twitter, @elviadiaz1.