logo
Trump Reacts To Greta Thunberg's Claim That She Was 'Kidnapped' By Israel

Trump Reacts To Greta Thunberg's Claim That She Was 'Kidnapped' By Israel

Newsweek4 hours ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
President Donald Trump responded on Monday to Swedish activist Greta Thunberg's claim that she was "kidnapped" by Israel while she and other pro-Palestinian advocates were on an aid boat bound for Gaza.
After the Israeli military intercepted the civilian vessel in international waters, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which operated the boat, released a pre-recorded video from Thunberg.
"If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel," the climate activist said in the clip.
A reporter asked Trump about the video during a White House business roundtable on Monday and referenced Thunberg's claim that she had been kidnapped.
"I find it—I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg," Trump said. "Is that what she said? She was kidnapped by Israel?"
"Yes, sir," the reporter said, to which Trump responded by shaking his head, before moving on to other questions.
Trump: I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg pic.twitter.com/Ke3lzLxAcc — Acyn (@Acyn) June 9, 2025
This is a breaking story. Updates to follow.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Republicans focus on trans athletes in their early attacks against Jon Ossoff in Georgia
Republicans focus on trans athletes in their early attacks against Jon Ossoff in Georgia

Yahoo

time39 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Republicans focus on trans athletes in their early attacks against Jon Ossoff in Georgia

In the early stages of the campaign, Republicans seeking to unseat Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the key races of the 2026 midterm elections are leaning heavily into attacks over transgender athletes in women's sports. Two GOP-aligned groups launched ads on the issue in recent weeks. And GOP Rep. Buddy Carter hit the airwaves with an ad prodding Ossoff on the issue soon after launching his campaign. Republican candidates and campaigns have frequently leaned on culture war issues in recent years as a way to excite the base and frame Democrats as out of touch, particularly in red-leaning states. And they're even more emboldened after President Donald Trump bombarded then-Vice President Kamala Harris with an onslaught of ads that attacked her support for transgender people during the 2024 election. But while Democrats are gearing up for a difficult re-election fight for Ossoff in a state Trump won narrowly in 2024, they think the issue will be drowned out by voters' concerns about the economy, particularly Trump's handling of it. Even so, it's an issue for which Democrats lack a consensus about how to respond to GOP broadsides, as prominent members of the party grapple with whether to embrace protecting the transgender community as part of their values, deflect the question, or come out against including transgender athletes in women's sports. Ossoff is the only Democratic incumbent defending a seat in a state Trump won last year, making him far-and-away the top target for Senate Republicans. Still, some Republicans admit that Ossoff will be difficult to beat, particularly now that Gov. Brian Kemp decided not to seek the seat. The early Republican criticism of Ossoff points to the Democratic senator's vote on legislation in February that would make it a Title IX violation (jeopardizing federal education funding) for states to allow transgender women and girls to participate in female sports. The bill failed to get the 60 votes it needed to advance in the Senate. One Nation, the nonprofit aligned with Senate Republicans' main super PAC, has spent at least $400,000 airing an ad reminiscent of a key tagline from one of Trump's anti-Harris ads from last year: 'Man-to-man defense isn't woke enough for Ossoff, he's playing for they/them.' Carter's opening salvo of ads included a spot touting the congressman's MAGA credentials while a person purporting to be a transgender woman holds sports trophies and stands in front of a transgender pride flag talking about how Ossoff has been an ally to the community. Asked about the GOP criticism of that vote, Ossoff campaign communications director Ellie Dougherty told NBC News in a statement that 'American parents don't need federal bureaucrats confirming our children's genitalia,' a reference to how a state might enforce the mandate in the Republican bill. Scott Paradise, who managed Republican Herschel Walker's losing Senate campaign in 2022, told NBC News that Ossoff's first Senate run in 2020 provided a 'perfect storm' that allowed Ossoff to position himself as a 'centrist' by narrowing his focus to 'bread-and-butter issues.' 'If he's talking about the economy or he's talking about moments where he has stood with the right — whether it's Middle East, to the extent he has on immigration — it's easier for him to muddy the waters. But this is such a black-and-white issue in a center-right state' that allows Republicans to try to frame him as out of step, Paradise said. Polling broadly shows the American public doesn't support transgender women playing in female sports. Last month's NBC News Stay Tuned Poll, powered by SurveyMonkey found that 75% opposed it and 25% supported it. Other national polling has found similar trends. That's one reason why Trump's campaign focused heavily on the issue in ads, arguing that Harris was outside the mainstream and pointing to her past support for gender-affirming treatments for prison inmates. After the election, Democrats have disagreed over whether the party's position on transgender rights, particularly in women's sports, cost them electorally. Asked about the attacks last month during an interview on "Political Breakfast," a podcast hosted by Georgia's public radio affiliate, Ossoff said the big early spending is a signal to him that "demonstrates the national GOP understands the strength that I'll be bringing to this re-election campaign." The Democrat called Republicans, particularly GOP political consultants, "obsessed and preoccupied with this issue." Thinking ahead about "top of mind" issues for voters in 2026, Ossoff added, will it be "whether or not federal bureaucrats are investigating the sexual biology of adolescent athletes? I don't think so," he added. Amy Morton, a Democratic strategist in Georgia, elaborated that she believes the midterms will instead be a "referendum on the economy" and Trump's handling of it, emphasizing the Democratic attacks on the GOP's broad policy bill that's working its way through Congress. "They're going to continue to lean into that issue because they don't want to talk about the issues that are really impacting Georgians," she said, adding, "They made a strategic decision to wrap their arms around Donald Trump so there won't be a degree of separation between his failure as an executive and their failure." A Democratic strategist who worked on Sen. Raphael Warnock's successful re-election in Georgia in 2022 added that, like their former boss, Ossoff's high-profile elections have helped to define him in the state, making them skeptical that a GOP attempt to brand him as extreme will stick. They added that while Warnock's 2022 Republican opponent, Herschel Walker, leaned heavily on social issues during his unsuccessful bid, Kemp won comfortably with a very different message on the same ballot, showing how a campaign can focus on the issues it wants and leave others to the side. "You saw Brian Kemp run an extremely disciplined race on the economy. You were hard-pressed to get Kemp on the record about abortion in 2022 — the man was laser-focused on small businesses, jobs and the economy. That was the consistent message you heard out of Brian Kemp. You compare that to Herschel Walker and, you can do the math: 300,000 votes," the Democrat said. But the economy was also a top issue in the 2024 election, and Trump and the Republican Party still managed to turn their attacks on trans issues into a memorable tagline that stuck with some voters. That's why one national Republican strategist told NBC News that the attack isn't a "replacement" for a cogent economic argument, but "part of the equation." 'It's an issue that obviously had a massive impact in 2024. The Trump campaign's 'Harris is for they/them' ad is one of the greatest ads of our generation in that it's so simple and was so effective,' the strategist said. Ads about transgender participants in women's sports can run "on top of: Oh, he also voted to help ensure that illegal immigrants get government-paid health care and he voted against the Laken Riley amendment in 2024 before it was convenient," the strategist added. While the transgender sports attacks are drawing headlines, both sides have been running ads focused on spending in Washington, too. Democrats have attacked the GOP's policy bill working its way through Washington, and Republicans hit Ossoff for backing former President Joe Biden's signature spending bill in 2022. Tharon Johnson, a Georgia Democratic strategist who worked for Biden's 2020 campaign in the state, agreed that Republicans are "going to be hard-pressed to make Jon Ossoff into this radical," in part because of his work both in office and on the campaign trail. And while he believes the situation Harris found herself in last year isn't the same one Ossoff finds himself in now, he said Democrats can still draw a lesson from it: "Respond sooner, and more effectively." So far, Ossoff's response has been to stay focused on the economy and try to frame the debate as about local control. This article was originally published on

Trump backs arrest of California governor amid LA protest strains
Trump backs arrest of California governor amid LA protest strains

Yahoo

time39 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Trump backs arrest of California governor amid LA protest strains

US President Donald Trump said Monday it would be "great" if California Governor Gavin Newsom was arrested, in an extraordinary threat as the two men sparred over protests in Los Angeles. Republican Trump, 78, deployed the National Guard in America's second city on Saturday after clashes erupted over immigration raids -- but he did not seek the Democratic governor's consent, the first time a US president has taken such an action in 60 years. As temperatures rose, Newsom, 57, then dared Trump's border czar Tom Homan over the weekend to arrest him, after Homan said the governor and LA Mayor Karen Bass could face federal charges of trying to impede immigration agents. "I would do it if I were Tom. I think it's great," Trump told reporters when asked if Homan should arrest Newsom, as the Republican president arrived on his Marine One helicopter at the White House. "Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing." Trump said Newsom, who has been widely tipped as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, had "done a terrible job" in curbing the Los Angeles clashes. "Look, I like Gavin Newsom, he's a nice guy -- but he's grossly incompetent, everybody knows," Trump said. Trump later said that "I don't want a civil war," but that "civil war would happen if you left it to people like him." Newsom has bitterly accused Trump of manufacturing the crisis for political gain, saying that local law authorities could have handled the protests without the National Guard. On Sunday, he blasted border chief Homan, telling MSNBC: "Come after me, arrest me, let's just get it over with, tough guy." The Democrat then branded Trump as "dictatorial" later Monday after the Trump administration deployed 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles. dk/jgc

Seized Gaza aid boat Madleen carrying Greta Thunberg taken to Israeli port
Seized Gaza aid boat Madleen carrying Greta Thunberg taken to Israeli port

Yahoo

time39 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Seized Gaza aid boat Madleen carrying Greta Thunberg taken to Israeli port

A Gaza-bound aid boat illegally seized in international waters by Israeli forces has been towed into Ashdod Port, with the dozen international activists who were on board now facing detention and deportation. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which launched the ship to draw international attention to the looming famine in besieged Gaza, said it was captured at about 4:02am (01:02 GMT) on Monday, about 200km (120 miles) from Gaza, arriving at Ashdod as night fell. Earlier, the coalition released a video from the vessel, which left Sicily on June 1, showing the activists – among whom are climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and French member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan – with their hands up as Israeli forces boarded the vessel and 'kidnapped' them. Adalah, a Palestinian legal centre representing the activists, said they were expected to be held at a detention facility before being deported. It said that Israel had 'no legal authority' to take over the ship, which was in international waters, heading not to Israel but to the 'territorial waters of the State of Palestine'. The arrests of the 12 'unarmed activists' amounted to 'a serious breach of international law', it said in a statement. Huwaida Arraf, an FFC organiser, told Al Jazeera there had been no contact with the activists since they had been detained in the early hours of Monday. 'We have lawyers on standby who are going to demand they have access to them tonight – as soon as possible,' she said. The Madleen, she noted, was sailing under a United Kingdom flag when it was forcibly seized by Israeli commandos. 'So Israel went into international waters and attacked sovereign UK territory, which is blatantly unlawful. And we expect strong condemnation, which we have not yet heard from the United Kingdom,' she UK government urged Israel to handle its detention of the activists 'safely with restraint, in line with international humanitarian law'. 'We have made clear our position in relation to the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The PM has called it appalling and intolerable,' said a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory, said: 'Israel has absolutely no authority to intercept and stop a boat like this, which carries humanitarian aid, and more than everything else, humanity, to the people of Gaza.' Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from Jordan's capital Amman, said the activists would be accused of entering Israel illegally. 'These activists had no intention to enter Israel. They wanted to reach the shores of Gaza, which are not part of Israel,' she said. 'But that is how they will be processed, and they will be deported because of that.'Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs portrayed the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying in a post on X that 'the 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel'. It said the passengers were 'undergoing medical examinations to ensure they are in good health', adding that all passengers were expected to return to their home countries. Government spokesperson David Mencer reserved special scorn for 22-year-old Thunberg. 'Greta was not bringing aid, she was bringing herself. And she's not here for Gaza, let's be blunt about it. She's here for Greta,' he said. In a prerecorded video message that was shared by the FFC, Thunberg said: 'I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible.' The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs said it was in contact with Israeli authorities. 'Should the need for consular support arise, the Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will assess how we can best help the Swedish citizen/Greta Thunberg resolve her situation,' said a spokesperson in a written statement to the Reuters news agency. United States President Donald Trump, who targeted Thunberg in 2019, dismissed her statement. 'I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg,' he said. French President Emmanuel Macron's office said the president had asked Israeli authorities to release the six French nationals on board as soon as possible, calling the humanitarian blockade of Gaza 'a scandal' and a 'disgrace'. Turkey condemned the interception as a 'heinous attack', while Iran denounced it as 'a form of piracy' in international waters. Israeli Minister of Defence Israel Katz said the activists would be shown videos of atrocities committed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. Hamas condemned the seizure of the boat as 'state terrorism' and said it saluted its activists. On the ground in Gaza, Israeli forces continued their onslaught, killing 60 Palestinians since dawn, according to medical sources who spoke to Al Jazeera. Among them were three medics, killed in Gaza City, as well as 13 hungry aid seekers, killed near an Israeli- and US-backed aid distribution site in southern Gaza. More than 130 people have been killed near distribution points run by the shadowy Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) since late May. Israel engaged the group to distribute aid amid its total blockade on all imports, including food, fuel and medicine, as Israel ramped up its offensive after breaking its ceasefire agreement with Hamas in United Nations and other aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, accusing it of lacking neutrality and suggesting the group has been formed to enable Israel to achieve its stated military objective of taking over all of Gaza. 'Israeli authorities have blocked the delivery of safe and dignified aid at scale to the people of Gaza for over three months now,' said the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, on Monday. 'We are not asking for the impossible. Allow us to do our work: assist people in need and preserve their dignity,' it said. On Monday, Israeli aircraft also bombed tents sheltering displaced families in al-Katiba square in Gaza City, causing additional deaths and injuries. They also targeted the Shaarawi and Haddad buildings in the Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, resulting in multiple casualties. At least one person was killed and others injured in an artillery attack on Old Gaza Street in Jabalia, in the north. Israel has killed at least 54,927 people in Gaza since the start of the war, a figure estimated to be far lower than the actual death toll.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store