Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has apologized for saying politicians should be put “against the wall” after critics took it to mean that she was advocating violence.
The 16-year-old Swede made the comment in a speech to young activists in the Italian city of Turin on Friday.
Thunberg later said she was making a literal translation from Swedish, in which the expression means to put someone on the spot with tough questions.
“That’s what happens when you improvise speeches in a second language. But of course I apologise if anyone misunderstood this,” Thunberg wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Thunberg told the crowd in Turin that world leaders were running away from their responsibilities to fight climate change.
“We have to make sure that they cannot do that,” she said. “We will make sure they, that we put them against the wall, and that they will have to do their job and to protect our futures.”
WATCH: Dem witness accuses Trump of ‘population purge,’ Kennedy fires back: ‘You trigger my gag reflex’
Far-left lawmaker endorses candidate who boasted about voting with Republicans 80% of time
California bishop’s alleged secret double life explodes into felony case
FAA Temporarily Grounds All JetBlue Flights
‘A Woke Joke’ – Fans Furious at Hypocrite Bruce Springsteen as Tickets to His ‘No Kings’ Tour Are So Expensive, Only Royalty Can Afford Them
ICE Houston touts over 400 illegal alien child sex offenders arrested during Trump’s first year back in office
Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve meets GOP senator holding up his confirmation
Former DC police officer accused of sexually assaulting 10 women he met on dating apps, in person
Europe flails in response to Iran conflict as Strait of Hormuz closure threatens energy supply
Shots Fired at US Consulate in Canada in ‘Unacceptable Act of Violence’
Jackson-Kavanaugh tensions surface in candid exchange over Supreme Court ‘shadow docket’
Have you seen these people? One of them might be your next president
Mainstream Media Headlines Use Subtle Spin to Hide Truth About ISIS-Inspired NYC Attack
Gas prices surge, pinching Americans and handing the GOP a new midterm headache
Tennessee lawmakers push bill that could make them, and their donors, richer by triggering CVS closures
The expression “putting someone against the wall” in Swedish describes a situation when someone is forced to address difficult questions or a difficult situation.
But some right-wing voices on social media interpreted her comment as a call for violence against politicians.
Thunberg tweeted that she and the youth movement she inspired is against all forms of violence.
“It goes without saying but I say it anyway,” she wrote.
Story cited here.
