As the global elite gather in the Swiss Alps for the World Economic Forum (WEF), all eyes are on the arrival of US President Donald Trump, who is set to make a highly anticipated appearance at the event. The timing of Trump’s visit, just days after his extraordinary threats regarding Greenland, is likely to add an extra layer of tension to the proceedings.
Trump’s relationship with Davos has always been a peculiar one. Last year, he beamed himself into the conference from the White House, addressing a bewildered audience of European executives just two days after his inauguration. During that appearance, he made veiled references to his territorial ambitions for Canada and Greenland, and issued an “offer you can’t refuse” to those importing into the US, warning them to build factories domestically or face crippling tariffs.
This year, Trump will be physically present at what is set to be the largest Davos ever, driven by his very presence and the disruptive policies he has championed, which have caused what the WEF might refer to as “The Great Global Disruption.” As the self-proclaimed “disruptor-in-chief,” Trump is sure to be pursued by world leaders and corporate titans alike about his attempts to coerce Europe into selling Greenland.
The official theme of the forum is “A Shared Future in a Fractured World,” but the US administration’s approach seems to be at odds with the call for global cooperation that is at the heart of the Davos ethos. After all, Davos is not exactly friendly territory for the “Make America Great Again” agenda. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has previously dismissed the “Davos agenda” as being “dead on arrival” in his state, and has vowed to resist its “woke banks” and “lab-grown meat.”
This year, there have been suggestions that the White House has insisted the Forum downplay its typical green, global development and “woke” agendas in favor of more hard-nosed business issues. Meanwhile, America’s biggest companies have been corralled into creating a “USA House” in a church for delegates to celebrate the World Cup and the 250th anniversary of US independence.
With global arguments over borders and sovereign power raging from Greenland to Caracas to the Donbas, and the presence of world leaders, it’s not impossible to envision some sort of summit, reminiscent of the Yalta conference in 1945, unfolding on the sidelines of the main event.
As Trump arrives in the Swiss Alps with a massive entourage, including five cabinet members and the US business elite, he will face a decidedly European-leaning audience. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has navigated the best part of a year of US trade chaos with a growing economy, is set to represent the vision of North America that Europe would love to see. Meanwhile, China will be present at the finance minister level, offering up its country as the “grown-up” on the global stage, where it continues to steadily ascend economically, technologically, and geopolitically.
The stage is set for a clash of visions at Davos, as Trump’s disruptive agenda collides with the forum’s traditional emphasis on global cooperation and multilateralism. The future, it seems, will be fought over in the Swiss Alps this week.
