Davos Reaction to Trump 2.0: Buckled Up for His New Term

The global elite know Donald Trump better than almost anyone after his first presidency shocked boardrooms

- Joshua Jamerson, Emily Glazer & Alexander Ward

After nearly a decade, you really get to know somebody. So the global elite, gathered here for the World Economic Forum and crammed into this ski hamlet in the Swiss Alps, say they are buckled up and ready for President Trump's second term.

"We've learned that he goes out maximalist and then he starts negotiating. This wasn't really known to us last time. This is now factored in," Norway's foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, said during an interview on the sidelines of the annual conference. He also said he has learned to take Trump seriously but not always literally. "If we run around commenting on every Truth Social post, you know, we will have nothing else to do." The minister said he still had questions, such as how Trump would handle Ukraine, U.S. support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and even how America would work with the world should there be another global pandemic.

"We will go in and discuss this with the new administration and see," he said.

That posture is widespread in Davos, marking a contrast to 2017, when Trump sent shock waves and unease through many corporate boardrooms and foreign capitals. Eight years later, many top diplomatic officials and titans of business are greeting Trump's second presidency with cautious optimism that he can help advance their interests. Some described the 45th and 47th president's desire for more nationalist U.S. immigration and trade policies as an expected—not surprising—part of the bargain of doing business with the U.S.