Wednesday, January 10th., 2018
Trump Plans to Attend the World Economic Forum in Davos
WASHINGTON
— President Trump is expected to attend the World Economic Forum at
Davos, Switzerland, in the coming weeks, an administration official said
on Tuesday.
In
a statement, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary,
said the president was looking forward to attending the gathering of
world leaders and business executives.
“The
president welcomes opportunities to advance his America First agenda
with world leaders,” Ms. Sanders said. “At this year’s World Economic
Forum, the president looks forward to promoting his policies to
strengthen American businesses, American industries and American
workers.”
Mr.
Trump’s planned appearance at an event that is synonymous with wealth
and elite prestige comes as he enters the second year of a term he won
on a message of economic populism.
Presidents
have rarely attended the forum in Davos, in part out of a concern that
it would send the wrong message to be rubbing shoulders with some of the
world’s richest individuals.
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Mr.
Trump won the 2016 election in part by attacking elites in the United
States and promising to “drain the swamp” in Washington of lobbyists,
corporate influence and members of the establishment — the very
description of those who regularly attend the Davos forum.
The
event in Switzerland is a global symbol of everything that Mr. Trump’s
former chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, railed against during the
presidential campaign and the first seven months in the administration.
But
Mr. Trump has also spent a lifetime as a real estate mogul and
television personality seeking to be accepted by the financial and media
elite in New York and around the world. His decision to travel to Davos
as president may represent his desire to prove that he has achieved
that goal.
Some
of Mr. Trump’s advisers were befuddled by his planned trip, coming a
year after his team decided not to send a representative to the 2017
gathering.
A
year into his term, Mr. Trump’s appearance at the forum is certain to
highlight the clash between his America First agenda and the more
globalist approach of some of America’s closest allies around the world.
Those
disagreements have been highlighted during Mr. Trump’s earlier trips
abroad, including arguments with European leaders about the need for
action to confront climate change. Mr. Trump’s visit to Asia last year
underscored his disagreements on trade issues with countries in the
region.
Many
of the participants at Davos are sure to embrace the globalist views
that Mr. Trump has rejected, providing the potential for dramatic
disagreements between the president and others at the meeting.
But
the event — which often focuses on global economic issues — also will
provide Mr. Trump with a platform to boast about the improving American
economy, including the rise in the stock market and the low jobless
rate.
The
president has eagerly claimed credit for the economic improvements
during his first year in office, and has predicted that the tax overhaul
passed at the end of last year would accelerate those trends.
The
annual economic forum takes place in the resort town of Davos high in
the Swiss Alps, bringing together more than 3,000 members of the global
elite in what has been described as the world’s most high-powered
networking event.
Those
who attend include journalists and columnists, Hollywood celebrities,
researchers, corporate chief executive officers and other business
titans, and some heads of state. Former President Bill Clinton attended
the forum in 2000 and former president George W. Bush attended a meeting
of the Word Economic Forum in Egypt in 2008. But former President
Barack Obama did not attend the meetings during the time he was in the
White House.
Founded
in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a German economics professor, the forum has
become an annual meeting that includes dinners and over 400 panel
discussion sessions, largely about world social and economic trends.
Officially, it is an academic conference; unofficially it is a global
schmoozefest for the rich and powerful.
The
conference is still dominated by corporate executives, but the
gathering also now attracts world leaders, some of whom use the venue as
a way to hold less formal bilateral conversations.
Last
year, President Xi Jinping of China attended the forum, which began
just days before Mr. Trump’s inauguration, becoming the first Chinese
leader to mingle with the corporate and media crowd in the mountain
village.
In
a speech at the forum, Mr. Xi portrayed his country as a global leader
interested in free trade at a time that Mr. Trump was already calling
for a turn inward. Mr. Xi challenged the incoming president not to
forsake trade with the rest of the world.
“Pursuing protectionism
is like locking oneself in a dark room,” Mr. Xi said in Davos last
year. “While wind and rain may be kept outside, that dark room will also
block light and air. No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war.”
The
forum has also become a way to be seen with the growing number of
global celebrities; last year, it was attended by Matt Damon and Forest
Whitaker, the actors, and the singer Shakira.
Officials
with the World Economic Forum, which takes place from January 23 to 26,
said they did not know what dates to expect the president to attend.
The White House did not say when Mr. Trump would travel there, or say
whether he would make other stops on a broader overseas trips.