President Donald Trump is sitting down with European business leaders in Davos, Switzerland. His dinner guests include leaders from Adidas, Siemens, Nestle, Deloitte, and other companies. (Jan. 25) AP
DAVOS, Switzerland — President Trump will promote the U.S. as a business destination and explain his 'America First' foreign policy vision in an address to the elite gathering of political and business leaders on the final day of the World Economic Forum.
The White House said the speech, which starts at 8 a.m. ET and is expected to last about 15 minutes, will touch on three key themes:
•Policy reforms that make the U.S. a more competitive destination for business;
•U.S. commitment to free and open trade, but on terms it feels are fair and reciprocal;
• and how the international community should work together on security concerns, such as fighting the Islamic State group and the threat posed North Korea’s nuclear program.
More: British government: Trump will visit United Kingdom this year
More: Trump demands Palestinian 'respect' to receive U.S. aid
The White House briefing gave no hint about whether Trump would temper his remarks to fit with the globalist ethos the gathering represents or would offer a defiant pitch for his “America First” economic agenda.
"Trump and Davos is such an inherently odd pairing that it is impossible to really predict what he will do once he’s on that Davos stage speaking to the very crowd that has generally shunned him, and that some would argue he has always aspired to join,” said Douglas Rediker, a global economy expert at the Brookings Institution think tank.
Still, Trump appears to be finding favor with business leaders. Several surveys published this week found that corporate leaders largely approve of his administration's recent corporate tax cuts and regulatory overhaul.
"I like a lot more stuff than I don’t like," Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said here Wednesday.
More: Trump wanted Mueller fired back in June, reports say
More: 'Brazil is back in business,' President Temer tells World Economic Forum
Reports that Trump wanted to fire Robert S. Mueller, who is leading the investigation into whether there was collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, threatened to overshadow the speech. The New York Times and Washington Post reported Thursday that Trump only backed down from dismissing Mueller after Donald McGahn, a White House lawyer, threatened to resign in protest.
“Fake news. Fake news," Trump responded Friday, in brief remarks made in the forum's main conference hall. "We have a tremendous crowd, and a crowd like they've never had before," he added. "It's a crowd like they've never had before at Davos. I assume they're here because of Klaus," he said, referring to Klaus Schwab, the founder of the World Economic Forum. Schwab was standing next to the president while he spoke.
Following a meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Trump ignored questions from journalists about vulgar language he used earlier this month to describe Haiti and African nations. Kagame is the chair of the African Union, a 55-country organization, that called on Trump to apologize over the comments. Trump said the two leaders had "tremendous discussions." Kagame said they talked about trade and the economy.
In an interview with the broadcaster Piers Morgan on Britain's ITV channel broadcast from Davos on Friday, Trump for the first time appeared to express regret for retweeting anti-Muslim posts by a leader of a far-right British group last year.
“If you're telling me they're horrible people, horrible racist people, I would certainly apologize if you would like me to do that,” Trump said when challenged.
More: What is Britain First, the far-right group re-tweeted by President Trump?
Join the Nation's Conversation
To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs