Trump speaks virtually at WEF in Davos – DW – 01/23/2025

US President Donald Trump began his bravado-filled and self-praising speech to Davos leaders with attacks on former President Joe Biden’s administration.

He accused Biden of losing control with inflation and illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border and said he had “taken rapid action to reverse radical left policies.” He also touted his executive order taking the US out of the Paris Agreement on climate change.  

Trump claimed that “economic confidence” is soaring in the US after his election. He said his message to the business community is to “make your product in America.” 

Additionally, he promised the largest tax cut in US history and told international businesses moving to the US they would see the lowest taxes of nearly “anywhere on Earth.”

US President Donald Trump spoke with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in the first call with a foreign leader during his presidency. 

A readout of the call was provided by the Saudi Foreign Ministry. During the discussion, MBS congratulated Trump and discussed “ways for cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America to promote peace, security and stability in the Middle East, in addition to enhancing bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism.”

MBS also said Saudi Arabia intends “to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years to the amount of $600 billion (€576.5 billion) and potentially beyond that.” 

During his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, Trump emphasized a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia. There were numerous reports that Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner would communicate frequently with MBS via WhatsApp, prompting cybersecurity concerns.

In 2018, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered after he walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. During that time, questions swirled that MBS had ordered the killing, with the Trump administration shrugging off the assassination and working to protect the US-Saudi relationship from criticism.

After Trump left office, a golf series funded by Saudi Arabia held a tournament in 2022 at one of Trump’s properties in New Jersey, known as LIV Golf Bedminster. LIV Golf will host another tournament at Trump’s Doral Resort this year in April during his second term.

Earlier at Davos, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reacted positively to Trump’s messages towards Russia regarding the invasion of Ukraine. Trump has threatened Russia with sanctions and tariffs if it doesn’t move towards a deal to end the war.

In a Wednesday post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump had urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop thie ridiculous war” or face consequences. 

“We do really welcome such strong messages from President Trump and we believe that he will be the winner,” Sybiha said. “And we believe that we have an additional change to get new dynamic in diplomatic efforts to end this war.” 

On the campaign trail last year, Trump claimed that he would end the war in Ukraine 24 hours after taking office. 

US President Donald Trump will address a gathering of business and political leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. 

It comes as Trump promises another term of his “America First” foreign policy.

The new US president has threatened tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, China and elsewhere, threatening to shake up global commerce. In addition, the Trump administration pulled the United States out of a Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal. 

He has also taken the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement and called on European nations to spend more on their defense.    

Earlier in the day, World Trade Organization head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called on nations to “keep calm” on tariffs. She said she is concerned that a trade war could be “catastrophic.”

“Even if a tariff is levied, please keep calm, don’t wake up and without the necessary groundwork levy your own,” Okonjo-Iweala said at the Davos gathering.

wd/sms (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)