From French President Emmanuel Macron’s aviators, to Al Gore heckling US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US President Donald Trump’s repeated references to Greenland as Iceland, the World Economic Forum at Davos was in the headlines often for its drama this week. Substantial discussions on bettering the world took a backseat.
This year’s gathering at Davos also signalled the rise of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as a potential foil to Trump’s politics of America First that headlined the WEF.
The annual gathering of billionaires and government leaders at the iconic alpine hideout had, in the past, focussed on setting a substantive agenda for the year to come.
But from “improving the state of the world”, the WEF has become one of the most televised celebrity dramas globally and that makes it ThePrint’s Newsmaker of the Week. Trump led the charge of vanishing any pretense that the forum has become anything more than the beneficiaries of the status quo defending their own interests, notes Peter Goodman of The New York Times.
Not just world leaders, but India’s very own Chief Ministers made a beeline to the scenic alpine city in Switzerland. Not to announce mega-deals with foreign investors but to sign agreements with domestic manufacturers and shake hands with leaders of an international military alliance—that New Delhi is not a part of. All to burnish their global credentials.
Even Elon Musk found a moment of levity on Trump’s “Board of Peace”, asking whether it meant “piece or peace? Like a little piece of Greenland, a little piece of Venezuela.”
ELON MUSK: "I heard about the formation of the peace summit? And I was like, is that piece or peace? Like little piece of Greenland a little piece of Venezuela." 😂 pic.twitter.com/QxmbOrH2wC
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) January 22, 2026
This year’s Davos is one of “fear”, wrote Bret Stephens, an opinion columnist at The New York Times. The spirit of “fear” arrived with Trump who in an hour-long address hit out at the usual suspects—migrants, wind farms and Europe—while boasting of the US’ great power. Trump further led the charge for the American ownership of Greenland—the autonomous territory of NATO ally the Kingdom of Denmark,” notes Stephens.
In all this, the mission of the WEF was founded in 1971, at a moment of a global economic shock—US President Richard M Nixon had just announced the end to the gold standard—to improve the state of the world seemingly vanished. Topics such as climate change, renewable energy and other issues facing the world took a back seat to satiate Trump.
Also read: A tale of two Davos speeches — Carney and Trump
Davos’ message to the world
The main draw at this year’s summit was Trump’s appearance, his first since 2018. Indian television news channels were counting down the hours to his speech Wednesday. The triumphant return of Trump to the pinnacle of global power saw the US President spend an hour attacking and defending Europe in the same breath.
Threats to Canada, and an almost mafia-like declaration of remembering those who stand with him on Greenland, underlined the agenda for the West over the next few weeks. The US President announced that he would not use force to obtain the “piece of ice”, which is important for “international and national security”, while attempting to force his allies to negotiate its release into US sovereignty.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made the case for the return of unfettered capitalism at various interactions at Davos, underlining that free markets have a “new sheriff in town.” Lutnick’s presence and speeches were heckled by none other than former US Vice President Al Gore at the dinner being hosted by Larry Fink, the billionaire chairman of BlackRock and the WEF. European Central Bank chief, Christine Lagarde also walked out from the dinner. It was cut short by Fink before dessert was served, according to reports.
President Macron, appeared with aviator sun-glasses, due to an eye issue. Macron’s speech, which focussed on pushing back against US threats on Greenland and vowing to stand up to “bullies”, was however, ignored for the eye-wear. Trump predictably mocked his sartorial choices in his address, stating “what the hell happened?”. Hours before appearing at Davos, Trump picked on Macron, sharing text messages between the two leaders on social media platforms. Macron requested Trump for a G7 meeting following Davos on Greenland, a request that the US President ignored.
Also read: Trump 2.0 vs 1.0 is no longer the debate. It’s about the upheaval he leaves behind
What was missing?
But through the multiple days of the forum one major topic seemed to be missing: Climate change.
Gita Gopinath, the former Chief Economist of the IMF pointed out that India’s growth is harmed by pollution more than tariff.
But none of the themes this year mentioned climate change, sustainability or renewable energy—all points that could irritate Trump, a showcase of how the US’ writ runs large at Davos. The only theme that seemingly was close enough was “How can we build prosperity within planetary boundaries?”
“The tradeoff between protecting the environment and pursuing economic growth is not inevitable, rather, resilient ecosystems enable long-term economic and social opportunity and stability. Investing in regenerative, circular and inclusive systems of production and consumption can ensure that growth remains within planetary boundaries,” the WEF programme describes this theme.
The fact remains—for WEF, climate change has fallen down the pecking order, despite it being a major risk to economic security globally. It was all about the Trump show.
As Goodman noted in his book Davos Man: How Billionaires Devoured the World, seemingly the WEF has led to creation of a new species: “ A predator who attacks without restraint, perpetually intent on expanding his territory and seizing the nourishment of others, while protecting himself from reprisal by posing as a symbiotic friend to all.”
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(Edited by Theres Sudeep)