Trump will go to Davos for economic summit
President Trump will head to Davos, Switzerland, at the end of the month for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, the White House announced Tuesday, a rare attendance for a U.S. president.
The only other U.S. president to attend the forum in Davis was Bill Clinton in 2000, according to CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller's count. The conference is set for Jan. 23 through Jan. 26, with a theme of "creating a shared future in a fractured world." Mr. Trump did not attend last year's forum, which came the same week of his inauguration. But others in his circle attended — then-aide Anthony Scaramucci sat on a panel — in 2017.
Last year, Chinese President XI Jinping keynoted the forum, in a speech some saw as him positioning China as the leader of a more liberal world. The conference and this year's theme of a "shared future," arguably, contrast with Mr. Trump's insistence on "America First," and regular attacks on trade policies with other nations that he considers unfair to the U.S.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president will look to "advance his America First agenda with world leaders."
"The president welcomes opportunities to advance his America First agenda with world leaders," Sanders said Tuesday. "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 America first approach has made some world leaders skeptical, but the Trump administration, including Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and chief White House economist Gary Cohn have insisted that America first doesn't mean isolationism or America alone.
