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Trump surprises with Davos decision | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Donald Trump plans to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos - the first sitting US president to attend the annual gathering in almost two decades. | |
The Swiss mountain village conference attracts some of the richest and most powerful people in the world and has become a byword for the global business interests Mr Trump often attacks. | |
This year's theme: creating a shared future in a fractured world, appears to clash with Trump's populist rhetoric. | |
Davos takes place in late January. | |
His spokeswoman said Mr Trump would promote policies to strengthen "American businesses, American industries, and American workers". | |
It is unusual for a US president to attend the Swiss retreat. | It is unusual for a US president to attend the Swiss retreat. |
Ronald Reagan joined the Davos crowd several times - but only via video link. | Ronald Reagan joined the Davos crowd several times - but only via video link. |
The first sitting US president to appear in Davos was Bill Clinton in 2000, at the forum's 30th anniversary session. He has been a regular attendee in most years since. | |
President George Bush - father and son - never came to the village in the Swiss mountains, and President Barack Obama also never appeared at the conference. | President George Bush - father and son - never came to the village in the Swiss mountains, and President Barack Obama also never appeared at the conference. |
President Trump's decision to go is perhaps particularly unexpected, since he has made go-it-alone policies a hallmark of his administration. | |
'Party of Davos' | |
Founded in Switzerland in 1971, the World Economic Forum promotes international trade, among other initiatives. | |
In contrast, Mr Trump has opposed multi-lateral free trade agreements, criticised institutions such as the United Nations and backed out of global treaties such as the Paris Agreement on climate change. | |
His former adviser Steve Bannon has often derided the "party of Davos" - a term he uses to describe a global moneyed class that does not support national or working class interests. | |
President Trump recently broke with Mr Bannon, who was quoted in a new book describing a meeting between the president's son and a group of Russians as "treasonous". |