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Michelle Obama knows how to #BeBest.
The former first lady came to the defense of climate activist Greta Thunberg’s on Twitter TWTR, +0.85% Thursday, after President Trump mocked the 16-year-old for being named Time’s Person of the Year.
Trump had 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!”
And this jab at a minor came just a week after Trump’s wife and Republican supporters alike slammed Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan for invoking 13-year-old first son Barron Trump’s name during the impeachment hearings. First Lady Melania Trump, whose Be Best initiative advocates against bullying, demanded that Karlan apologize and she later did. The first lady tweeted at the time that, “A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics.”
But apparently that doesn’t apply to Thunberg?
The backlash against Trump was swift on Thursday, with many critics pointing out the hypocrisy of defending Barron, but not Thunberg, who is on the autism spectrum. This also led to #BeBest trending for a time.
So former first lady Obama tweeted a message of support to Thunberg on Thursday night, writing: “Don’t let anyone dim your light. Like the girls I’ve met in Vietnam and all over the world, you have so much to offer us all. Ignore the doubters and know that millions of people are cheering you on.”
Obama’s post drew more than 235,000 likes and 30,000 retweets by Friday morning, along with more than 2,200 comments.
As for Thunberg’s response, she cheekily changed her Twitter profile to read, “A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.”
