Donald Trump has lashed out at climate activist Greta Thunberg, calling her “a strange person” and suggesting she attend “anger management class,” following her involvement in a Gaza-bound humanitarian mission that was intercepted by Israeli forces.
“She’s a young, angry person,” the newly-elected POTUS told reporters. “I don’t know if it’s real anger, it’s hard to believe, actually. But I saw what happened. She’s certainly different.”
Trump continued: “I think she has to go to anger management class. That’s my primary recommendation for her.”
His comments came after Thunberg, 22, alleged she had been "kidnapped" by Israeli forces while aboard an aid vessel attempting to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.
“She said she was kidnapped by Israel? I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg,” Trump remarked, per GB News.
The Swedish activist was among 12 people on board the Madleen, a ship operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which set sail from Sicily on June 1. The vessel was carrying humanitarian supplies, including baby formula, flour, medical equipment, water purification tools, and prosthetic limbs intended for children in Gaza.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, had previously stated that the vessel would not be allowed to reach Gaza. “I have instructed the IDF to act so that the Madleen… does not reach Gaza,” he said, via News On Air.
The ship was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, roughly 160 nautical miles from Gaza, with reports from those on board that communication systems had been jammed prior to the boarding.
In a pre-recorded video released in anticipation of a possible interception, Thunberg said: “My name is Greta Thunberg, and I am from Sweden. If you see this video, we are being intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel.”
She urged her supporters to “put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible.”
Israeli authorities responded with sharp criticism. Defence Minister Gallant labeled Thunberg and the other activists as “Hamas propagandists,” and referred to the climate campaigner as “antisemitic".
“To the antisemitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propagandists, I will say this clearly: You should turn back, because you will not make it to Gaza,” Gallant said.
Also aboard the Madleen was French MEP Rima Hassan, who is of Palestinian descent. Hassan has been previously barred from entering Israel due to her outspoken criticism of Israeli policy.
Speaking to Middle East Eye before the ship’s interception, Thunberg accused governments of abandoning Palestinians. “We cannot sit by and allow this to happen,” she said. “We are watching a genocide unfold, following decades of systematic oppression, ethnic cleansing, and occupation.”
Thunberg, who has Asperger’s syndrome, rose to global prominence in 2018 after beginning a solo school strike for climate action outside the Swedish Parliament at the age of 15.
Her activism helped ignite the Fridays for Future movement and has earned her widespread recognition, and scrutiny, on the world stage.
This latest chapter in her activism has added a controversial geopolitical dimension to her profile, and sparked fierce debate on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.