World leaders who convened at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, foresee the possibility of Donald Trump being re-elected this year.
This topic dominated the discussions during the annual meeting, particularly following Donald Trump’s victory in the Jan. 15 Iowa caucus.
While Trump may not be the most favored candidate for many at Davos due to geopolitical risks he may pose, the American corporate community seems quite at ease with the prospect of his potential return.
In his CNBC interview, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, emphasized that dismissing Trump would be a mistake, acknowledging that the former president was at least partially correct on various policy issues during his last term.
Dimon believed that Trump achieved economic growth and was successful in tax reform. He recognized that Trump was also right about immigration issues, relations with China and participation in NATO.
“He wasn’t wrong about some of these critical issues, and that’s why they’re voting for him,” he said.
“He’s going to win the presidency,” a U.S. bank CEO said, according to CNBC. “Many of his policies were right.”
However, for many in the international community, the prospect of Trump’s victory is not viewed with anticipation.
“If we are to draw lessons from history, looking at the way he ran the first four years of his mandate, it’s clearly a threat,” said Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, according to Politico Europe.
Will Trump win in November?
Her concern stems from Trump’s past policies on trade tariffs, his commitment to NATO, and his dismissive attitude toward climate change.
The former president consistently issued threats to withdraw from NATO and cautioned European leaders that the U.S. would not come to Europe’s aid in the event of a military invasion.
Majda Ruge of the European Council on Foreign Relations informed Politico Europe that Trump’s re-election could significantly redefine the United States’ relationship with the world.
She added that countries with more authoritarian leaders, such as Russia, Hungary or the Gulf countries, would be looking forward to Trump’s victory this November.
As reported by CNBC, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba is confident that even if Trump wins, the United States will continue its commitment to defeating Russia to safeguard the world order established through American leadership.
The Ukrainian minister pointed out that during his presidential term, Trump was the first to authorize the sale of lethal weapons to Ukraine and imposed sanctions on the Russian project Nord Stream 2.
In the past, forecasts made by the World Economic Forum have frequently proven to be inaccurate, according to CNBC. Critics often argue that attendees of the forum serve as a contrary indicator of future events.
