YouTube/Getty Greta Thunberg (l) delivers what some are called a "death stare" to Donald Trump.
Greta Thunberg, the teenage Swedish climate change activist, leveled what some are calling a “death stare” when President Donald Trump walked past her at the world climate change summit. You can watch video of the moment below, which is going viral on social media. People also circulated memes. You can also watch a video of Thunberg’s climate change speech later in this article.
In that speech, Thunberg said: “The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you.”
Some have defended the 16-year-old Thunberg, and criticized the critics, pointing out that she has Asberger’s syndrome and isn’t even an adult yet (she defines herself on Twitter as “16 year old climate activist with Asperger´s. Join the global climate strikes on Sept 20-27th!.”) In an unrelated incident, a Fox News pundit previously apologized for calling her a “mentally ill Swedish child.” In a statement printed by Buzzfeed, a Fox News spokesperson said: “The comment made by Michael Knowles who was a guest on The Story tonight was disgraceful — we apologize to Greta Thunberg and to our viewers.” Still, some people made memes at Thunberg’s expense.
President Trump took to Twitter after Thunberg’s speech and the so-called “death stare” moment. He shared a video of Thunberg’s speech and wrote, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” Here’s video of the so-called “death stare.” In the moment, Trump walks past Thunberg but the camera caught her reaction.
Sommet de l’ONU: Greta Thunberg croise Donald Trump…et son regard en dit long
Others praised Thunberg’s speech.
Here’s what you need to know:
Thunberg Chastised Politicians, Saying They Have Failed Her Generation & the World on Climate Change
Thunberg was at the UN Climate Action Summit when the Trump moment happened, to deliver a speech on climate change. “I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back at school on the other side of the ocean,” she said at the summit. “Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.”
“The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you.”
— @GretaThunberg at UN #ClimateAction Summit. t.co/g4uXzT9aRM
She added: “You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency, but no matter how sad and angry I am I do not want to believe that because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil, and that I refuse to believe.”
In a 2018 interview, Thunberg told The New Yorker: “I see the world a bit different, from another perspective. I have a special interest. It’s very common that people on the autism spectrum have a special interest.”
According to the New Yorker, Thunberg was only in third grade when she became interested in climate change. “They were always talking about how we should turn off lights, save water, not throw out food,” she explained to the publication. “I asked why and they explained about climate change. And I thought this was very strange. If humans could really change the climate, everyone would be talking about it and people wouldn’t be talking about anything else. But this wasn’t happening.”
READ NEXT: Greta Thunberg’s Family.