Journalists simply can’t get enough of Greta Thunberg, the radical 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who wants people to stop flying in order to save the planet. MSNBC hosts on Wednesday bashed their own kids as not living up to the great climate hero. Speaking of Thunberg’s testimony before Congress, Stephanie Rule compared, “Tonight, when no one in my house wants to do homework, wants take a shower, even clear the dishes from the dinner table. I am going to play that on a loop for them.”
Teasing the segment, Andrea Mitchell enthused, “Coming up, a voice for change. How one 16-year-old girl is pushing Congress to fight the climate crisis.” Later, she cheered, “Coming up, Greta goes to Washington. The 16-year-old environmental activist tells Congress they are not doing enough to fight climate change.”
Of course, Mitchell never mentioned this inconvenient truth (as noted in the Daily Mail) about her transatlantic trip across the ocean in a carbon neutral yacht.
Greta Thunberg's trans-Atlantic voyage on a 'zero-carbon yacht' has been rocked by revelations that crew will fly to New York in a gas-guzzling plane to bring the boat back to Europe.
It is claimed that this would generate more emissions than the yacht saves and threatens to leave the 16-year-old's plans to chart an environmentally friendly route to the United States in tatters.
Mitchell ignored the extreme nature of her views. Thunberg thinks that eating meat is “stealing her generation’s future” and will lead to a climate apocalypse. Additionally, the teenager has touted “flygskam” or flight shaming for anyone who dares use an airplane regularly. (But not flights needed because of her own activities, apparently.)
1 PM hour co-host Velshi trashed his own kids in comparison to Thunberg: “Both Stephanie and I as we’re watching that are going to take that clip and show it to our kids today to see if they’ve amounted to anything because that’s kind of impressive.”
Ruhle mocked her own children: “Tonight, when no one in my house wants to do homework, wants take a shower, even clear the dishes from the dinner table. I am going to play that on a loop for them.”
For more on Thunberg see Newsbusters’s coverage, go here.
A transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more
Andrea Mitchell Reports
9/18/19
12:46ANDREA MITCHELL: Coming up, a voice for change. How one 16-year-old girl is pushing Congress to fight the climate crisis.
...
MITCHELL: Coming up, Greta goes to Washington. The 16-year-old environmental activist tells Congress they are not doing enough to fight climate change.
12:58
MITCHELL: A transatlantic boating voyage, a testimony before Congress and a meeting before a Commander-in-chief. Not a bad few weeks for a 16-year-old. I’m, of course, referrring to environmental activist Greta Thunberg who is now in the nation’s capitol after sailing from the UK to Plymouth, Massachussets to raise awareness for the negative impact air travel on the environment. This week, Greta has also met President Obama, who says that she is unafraid to push for real action. And moments ago, she spoke to Congress, chastising them about climate change.
GRETA THUNBERG: I don’t see a reason to not listen to the science. It’s just such a thing that we should not be taken for granted. We listen to the current, best available, united science. It is just something that everyone should do. This is not political opinions, political views this is science. We already seen the consequences, the unacceptable consequences of today and it will only get worse the longer we delay action unless we start to act now
MITCHELL: So, a 16-year-old is telling Senators what to do. Tomorrow, of course and on Friday, Chris Hayes and Ali Velshi are moderating a two day climate forum featuring 2020 presidential candidates, which will stream live on MSNBC News Now and MSNBC.com and Telemundo with special coverage across MSNBC. Perhaps they could take a page, the grownups could take a page from a 16-year-old girl who did a transatlantic voyage. That does it for this edition of Andrea Mitchell Reports. Remember, follow the online, on Facebook and on Twitter @Mitchell Reports. Here is Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle for Velshi and Ruhle.
ALI VELSHI: Never mind grownups taking a page from her. Both Stephanie and I as we’re watching that are going to take that clip and show it to our kids today to see if they’ve amounted to anything because that’s kind of impressive.
MITCHELL: Amazing
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Tonight, when no one in my house wants to do homework, wants take a shower, even clear the dishes from the dinner table. I am going to play that on a loop for them.
