Greta Thunberg has hit out at the president for threatening to destroy a ‘whole civilization’ prior to agreeing to a temporary ceasefire with Iran.
As April brings the conflict between Iran, the US and Israel into its second month, thousands of people have reportedly died. The three nations have now signed off on a two-week ceasefire, with Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz as part of the arrangement.
Before the pause in fighting was confirmed, Donald Trump issued an ultimatum, setting an 8pm ET deadline on April 7 for a deal to be reached. He warned that if no agreement was made, he would ‘unleash hell’ on Iran and kill ‘a whole civilization’.
Since then, Iran has put forward a 10-point proposal that is expected to be debated in the coming days. Reports say the US has described the plan as ‘workable’, though it has not fully signed on.
In the lead-up to the ceasefire being announced, Thunberg posted online to condemn the president’s comments and the lack of reaction to them.
“The president of the United States just said that a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” the 23-year-old activist said. “And no one is reacting. This speaks for itself. What the f**k is anyone evening doing at this point?”
Thunberg continued: “We have normalized genocide, total inhalation of entire people, the systematic destruction of the biosphere which we are all depending on to survive, and that corrupt, racist war criminals can act with complete impunity.”
She added that there is still time ‘to say stop’, concluding: “If we don’t, we shouldn’t f**king be able to call ourselves human.”
Her remarks quickly drew attention on Reddit, where users weighed in on her statement.
One person wrote: “They got Greta to drop the F bomb! And she’s absolutely correct in saying so!”
“Greta is so consistently on the right side of history,” said a second, while a third wrote: “I wish we could have leaders like her.”
This also isn’t the first time Thunberg has criticized Trump’s administration, as the pair have a well-documented history of trading barbs.
In 2017, Trump claimed the activist had an anger issue. He wrote on Twitter: “So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!”
Later, Thunberg echoed the line back at him when Trump complained about the 2016 election being ‘rigged’.
Thunberg said to him on social media: “Donald must work on his Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Donald, Chill!”