All eyes will be on President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, this month with analysts predicting he will use the meeting as a chance to show off his economic and policy successes so far in office.
Trump’s attendance at the 2018 Forum, announced in early January, raised eyebrows at the time as the president has roundly criticized elites such as the rich and powerful that attend Davos. His former adviser Steve Bannon said during Trump’s election campaign that working people were “tired of being dictated to by what we call the party of Davos.”
Trump will be the first sitting present to visit the meeting in the Alps since Bill Clinton in 2000. Recent presidents have avoided the meeting, perhaps to avoid giving the wrong impression to voters by rubbing shoulders with the elite.
John Raines, head of political risk at IHS Markit, told CNBC ahead of the Forum that Trump’s decision to attend Davos was “interesting”, given his criticism of the meeting.
“Here’s a guy who has really complained about the Davos set for quite some time, (and) during (his election) campaign,” Raines said. “He’s come out and said that he disagrees with the agenda, he disagrees with globalization, free trade and here he is going right into the vortex.”
