Fox News apologized for guest who mocked 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg. Then Trump joined in.

Greta Thunberg at the United Nations
(Image credit: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images)

In a short, scathing speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg chastised world leaders for failing the planet and its younger inhabitants, highlighted the "crystal clear" climate science, and blamed their inaction on immaturity and greed. "We are in the beginning of a mass extinction," she said, "and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth." Her message, which galvanized hundreds of thousands of people worldwide to take to the streets on Friday, didn't appear to sit well at Fox News.

On Monday's The Story, The Daily Wire's Michael Knowles claimed that scientists aren't leading the fight against global warming, so why should we listen to "politicians and a mentally ill Swedish child who is being exploited by her parents and by the international left"? Fellow guest Christopher Hahn slammed Knowles for belittling Thunberg.

Fox News later said it has no plans to book Knowles as a guest anymore and called his comment "disgraceful — we apologize to Greta Thunberg and to our viewers." Knowles stuck to his assertion that Thunberg is being exploited, and he got some support from fellow conservatives on the Fox News circuit.

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Later Monday night, host Laura Ingraham compared Thunberg to a horror movie character.

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Fox News host Tucker Carlson called her a manipulative "human shield."

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Then President Trump joined the mockery.

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Apparently, Thunberg is used to this kind of negative attention.

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Which is pretty mature for a 16-year-old.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.