News•January 17, 2017

Trump Tweeted the Wrong Ivanka. She Gave Him Climate Advice

It’s not very often you get mentioned in a tweet by the president-elect. But that’s exactly what happened to Ivanka Majic, who took the opportunity to tell him to consider the grave threat climate change poses (and also to mind his Twitter manners).

The Brighton, U.K.-based digital strategist got the chance thanks to a case of mistaken Twitter identities.

The exchange started Monday night when Trump retweeted a follower who was praising Trump’s daughter Ivanka. There was just one problem: the original tweet used the wrong Twitter handle for Ivanka and Trump did not correct it.

@realDonaldTrump @drgoodspine And you're a man with great responsibilities. May I suggest more care on Twitter and more time learning about #climatechange. pic.twitter.com/kBMEGZYtig— Ivanka Majic (@ivanka) January 17, 2017

That fateful error flooded Majic’s Twitter notifications. She decided to write back, telling Trump to be more careful on Twitter and also take the time to understand climate change. Hundreds have replied to her tweet — and to the president-elect — and thousands have retweeted and liked it.

Trump has called climate change a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese and nominated a cabinet full of people who espouse climate science denialism. He has also expressed skepticism of the Paris climate agreement and vowed to repeal Obama’s domestic climate plan.

His views and the views of many of his cabinet nominees are far outside those held by mainstream climate scientists. Majic chose to highlight the overwhelming scientific consensus of climate change using a graphic from Information is Beautiful.

The international community has seen increasing momentum to address carbon pollution in recent years. When Trump takes office on Friday, he will become the only world leader to deny the science of climate change. That’s sparked widespread concern in the scientific and policy communities as well as in everyday people like Majic.

It remains to be seen if Trump takes Majic’s advice about climate change or his Twitter use, but it seems pretty unlikely.