Donald Trump made a grand departure to Switzerland on Wednesday night, where he's attending a big to-do often referred to in the short-hand as Davos. Once there, he's scheduled to deliver a speech on Friday.
SEE ALSO:If Trump's tweets have this much influence over foreign policy, we're all screwedThe event is a pretty big deal, and includes business and political leaders from all over the world who hob-nob, make speeches, shake hands, and try to hash out a whole lot of deals of all sorts. And it's also where a lot of controversy could be stirred thanks to Trump and his often fiery rhetoric.
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But what is Davos really about and why should you care beyond just the fact that our president is there (and, at least, mercifully distracted from Twitter for a spell)?
Technically, Davos is a fancy-pants ski resort town in Switzerland where this week's big meeting is taking place, which is why it's used as a shorthand for the event.
But the actual event is the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum which says its mission is that it "engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas."
Topics range from tech to poverty to cryptocurrency to climate change, and involve a wide range of speakers from Malala and PayPal CEO Dan Schulman to UK Prime Minister Teresa May and, yeah, Trump.
Sure, it's a nice gathering of the powerful at a lavish ski resort town, but there are plenty of critics, perhaps best summed up by Steve Hilton's run-down for The Guardianin 2016:
It’s easy to mock Davos – so I will. It’s the annual schmooze fest where rich white men debate inequality and diversity. Where fleets of carbon-gushing private jets fly in philanthropists to pontificate about climate change. Where the world’s biggest corporations earnestly set out footling “strategies” and “action plans” to give the impression they’re addressing the social and environmental problems that they caused in the first place.
In a slightly subtler stab, Oxfam International shared their annual inequality report on Monday, the eve of the forum's open, revealing that the globe's richest one percent held 82 percent of the world's wealth.
So, yeah, the rich and powerful rubbing elbows at a fancy ski resort in Switzerland under the guise of improving the world don't make for the best optics. Especially since the inequality gap is continuing to grow, particularly in America (no matter what Trump tweets about Wall Street).
But it's still a big deal, a collision of worldwide political and business leaders, and it comes at a crucial time of debate over nationalism versus globalism, when the globe is more connected than ever and many believe we're growing toward a global economy while there are very strong pockets of nationalist resistance.
And that's where our commander-in-chief comes in. There's a lot of buzz because Trump has been very, very clear since he announced his candidacy for president two-and-a-half years ago that he's hyper-focused on an "America First!" agenda.
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While there have been other examples of nationalism around the globe (Brexit), no one has made it as blatant as Trump (see: his decision to pull the country out of the Paris Climate Agreement). You can expect a lot of side-eye when he proclaims this approach is good for the entire world during his Friday speech.
In fact, there have already been plenty of protests of Trump ahead of his visit.
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His free-wheeling speaking and tweeting habits are also casting a shadow over his visit, especially his recent disparaging comments about certain countries from which an influx of immigrants are coming to the states. His nuclear war button measuring contest with North Korea is bound to be the subject of derision, too.
Which is why it's distressing to hear that there's a lot of buzz about plans from attendees to Trump's Friday speech to walk out during his talk as a form of protest, specifically over ShithouseGate. It won't be a great look, especially for the first appearance by a U.S. president at the forum in 18 years.
While your instinct may be to ignore the mighty milling about together for a week, there is absolutely reason to care.
For all the hot air that may circulate in the snowy Swiss town from so much bloviating by the rich and powerful, these are the people that control a great deal of wealth in a world with a growing imbalance of equality. It's important to know what's important to them and what direction their thinking in a global economy.
It's also worth noting that, for all the criticism, not everyone who attends Davos is some sort of evil billionaire, and many attendees can still have a large positive impact on the globe. Educating yourself on who those people are and how you can support them (and help fight this growing inequality) is essential.
And as for Trump? Well, sure, there may be some awkward handshakes and awful tweets to come out of his visit, but he's still the president, and for all the smoke from the tire fire that is the Trump White House, this is our president speaking and appearing at a global event.
How the rest of the world reacts and perceives him will have a big impact not just on what Trump does next, but also on the ongoing political debate at home as well as the elections and debates to come.
TopicsDonald TrumpPolitics
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