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(CNN) - US President Donald Trump mocked Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter late Monday night after the 16-year-old severely criticized world leaders for not doing what Enough to face the climate crisis.
“She looks like a very happy girl who expects a bright and wonderful future. How nice to see her! ”Trump wrote on Twitter, responding to a video of Thunberg's speech at the United Nations climate action summit earlier that day.
Trump's fondness for insults on Twitter and online confrontations with people he sees as political adversaries is well known, although Monday's tweet is a striking sign that the president is provoking a girl.
- Greta Thunberg, 16-year-old activist, launches strong message to world leaders
Thunberg seemed to calmly take Trump's snub and on Tuesday morning he updated his Twitter biography like this: "A very happy girl who expects a bright and wonderful future."
In the video shared by Trump of his speech, Thunberg is visibly frustrated and sometimes seems to hold back tears of anger as he addresses the UN General Assembly.
“People are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction and the only thing that can be talked about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth, ”said Thunberg.
He did not mention Trump or any other world leader in his speech, but his message was timely.
- Profile of Greta Thunberg, the wise teenager of the climate crisis
"How dare they keep looking away and come here saying they are doing enough when the policy and necessary solutions are not yet in sight," he said. “They say they listen to us and understand the urgency, but no matter how sad and angry I am, I don't want to believe that. Because if they really understood the situation and still couldn't act, they would be evil and refused to believe that. ”
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who recently withdrew his support for Trump, criticized the president for his comment on Thunberg.
“Parents in the United States and around the world: yesterday was after a 16-year-old girl. @RealDonaldTrump is not fit for his job, ”Scaramucci tweeted on Tuesday.
Trump briefly attended the UN climate summit on Monday at an impromptu stop on his way to his administration's priority event on religious freedom. But the United States did not speak at the event and Trump - who has repeatedly said he believes climate change is a hoax - left 15 minutes later.
Thunberg, who has helped drive a global movement that demands more action to address climate change, came across Trump at the UN General Assembly. In a video it was recorded looking at the president of the United States.
The young Swedish woman has been open about her diagnosis of Asperger and has described it as a “superpower” that helps her activism.
“My diagnosis has definitely helped me maintain this approach. When you're interested in something, you just keep reading and feel very focused, ”he told Bill Weir of CNN in an interview this month.
- Nicole Gaouette of CNN and Ivana Kottasová contributed to this report.
Greta Thunberg
