INTERNATIONAL - President Donald Trump’s appearance, which comes on the same day his impeachment trial starts in Washington, began with him calling the trial a “hoax” and “disgraceful.” In his speech, he lauded his economic achievements and said the U.S. is “thriving” and “winning again like never before.”
Meanwhile, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was in the audience for Trump’s speech, stepped up her criticism of governments and companies for not doing enough to tackle climate change.
In his speech, Trump said that the U.S. “is in the midst of economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen before.”
“We’ve regained our stride; we discovered our spirit and reawakened the powerful machinery of American enterprise,” Trump said. “America’s thriving; America is flourishing and, yes, America is winning again like never before.”
Trump renewed his feud with the Federal Reserve, saying the central bank raised interest rates too quickly.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrumpsaid, in a fully packed Congress Center in Davos today. #WEF
— Business Report (@busrep)
These great numbers are “despite the fact the the Fed has raised rates too fast and lowered them too slowly,” Trump said. “I see such tremendous potential for the future. We have not even started, because the numbers we’re talking about are massive. The time for skepticism is over.”
Trump said the economic strength of the U.S. is benefiting ordinary people and “the workers come first” under his administration.
“The U.S. celebrating the dignity of work is a fundamental pillar of our agenda,” he said. “This is a blue-collar boom. The American dream is back, bigger better and stronger than ever before.”
Trump concluded his speech by calling on world leaders to join together to “make our nations stronger, our countries safer, our culture richer, our people freer, and the world more beautiful than ever before.”
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trumpspeech?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Trumpspeech #WEF
— Business Report (@busrep)
“Above all else, we will forever be loyal to our workers, our citizens and our families, the men and women who are the backbone of our economies, the heart of our communities and the soul of our countries,” Trump said. “Let us bring light to their lives one by one and empower them to light up the world.”
“It was for several different constituencies,” Blackstone Group Inc. Chairman Steve Schwarzman said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “This was a speech to basically say ‘I think we need some perspective and let’s look at what’s happened under this administration.’ That is not just for domestic consumption, it’s meant to be heard in the broader context.”
The billionaire co-founder of the New York-based private equity firm has previously advised Trump and was present in the White House when he announced the first part of the China-U.S. trade deal.