'World needs angry young women': Greta Thunberg's clapback at Donald Trump

After Trump mocks Greta Thunberg as an 'angry young woman', the activist fires back, saying the world needs more young angry women to face today's crises

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has responded to US President Donald Trump, after he described her as a “strange” and “young, angry person” with “anger issues,” in the wake of her attempt to deliver aid to war-hit Gaza.

 

Trump made the remarks following Thunberg’s brief detention by Israeli forces, who intercepted her British-flagged aid vessel, 'Madleen’, in international waters. The boat was part of the Freedom Flotilla, a pro-Palestine coalition-led mission that departed Italy on June 1 to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip.

 

"Anger management — I think she has to go to an anger management class. That’s my primary recommendation for her… Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg,” Trump said, responding to her claims that she and her team were "kidnapped" by Israeli forces. 

 

Q: Do you have a message for Greta Thunberg and did she come up on your call with Netanyahu?  TRUMP: She's a strange person. She's a young, angry person ... I think she has to go to an anger management class pic.twitter.com/2JxzspdVvM

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 9, 2025

  Israel has denied the accusation, calling it baseless and insisting the activists were deported in accordance with international law.

 

Thunberg, who was deported and landed in Paris earlier this week, defended her stance and fired back at Trump’s comments.

 

“I think the world needs many more young angry women, to be honest,” she told reporters at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

 

“Especially with everything going on right now. That's the thing we need the most of.” 

 

Earlier, speaking to reporters, she accused Israeli forces of violating international norms.

 

“This is yet another intentional violation of rights that is added to the list of countless other violations that Israel is committing,” Thunberg said.

 

The activist said her vessel was stopped in the early hours of Monday and her team was forcibly taken to Israel, a move she described as a violation of maritime and human rights law.

 

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition had launched the mission amid growing international concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, triggered by Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas. Aid convoys and missions seeking to reach Gaza by sea have faced increasing restrictions and interceptions.

 

This is not the first public clash between Trump and Thunberg. Their long-running war of words dates back to September 2019, when Trump sarcastically called her a “very happy young girl” after her powerful speech at the United Nations, where she accused world leaders of betraying her generation.

 

Later that year, when Time Magazine named Thunberg its 'Person of the Year', Trump once again mocked her, tweeting that she should “work on her Anger Management problem” and “chill.”