Greta Thunberg Slams Donald Trump, Says Talking To President Is 'Wasted Time'

Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg, the TIME Magazine 2019 Person of the Year, says she would have just wasted her time talking to skeptic Donald Trump about climate change even if she had the chance to do so.

On Monday, Thunberg gave her views on climate change and Trump on BBC radio’s "Today" program. She also bravely admitted becoming a climate activist had helped rescue her from the depression that once plagued her. Thunberg has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by difficulty with social and communication skills.

Thunberg's and Trump's paths crossed briefly at a U.N. climate summit in New York in September where a photo of Thunberg giving Trump what's since been called a "death stare" became viral on social media.

Trump returned the favor in December after Thunberg was revealed as TIME's Person of the Year. He tweeted, "So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!”

Thunberg got back at Trump by swiftly changing her bio description on Twitter to, “A teenager working on her anger management problem.”

With this history of animosity, what can a 73-year-old man and a 16-year-old teenager talk about?

Asked what she would have said to Trump if they had spoken back in September, Thunberg replied: “Honestly, I don’t think I would have said anything because obviously he’s not listening to scientists and experts, so why would he listen to me?

“So I probably wouldn’t have said anything, I wouldn’t have wasted my time,” she said, noted Reuters.

TIME editors said they selected Thunberg, who is the youngest person conferred this honor, "partly in recognition of the growing influence of youth demonstrators around the world on a variety of issues."

Other contenders for the editors' pick for TIME Person of the Year were the Hong Kong protestors, Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the Anonymous Whistleblower that ignited the impeachment inquiry bedeviling the senior Trump.

Speaking about the attacks against her by climate skeptics like Trump and the Republican Party, Thunberg said those attacks "are just funny because they obviously don’t mean anything. I guess of course it means something -- they are terrified of young people bringing change which they don’t want -- but that is just proof that we are actually doing something and that they see us as some kind of threat.”