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By Sam Stevenson
Associate News Editor
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President Donald Trump is set to speak at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday—here’s everything you need to know.
Why It Matters
The president’s scheduled address comes as his push to acquire Greenland and subsequent threats of tariffs on U.S. allies have reshaped the gathering’s agenda.
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What To Know
The WEF has billed 2026’s theme as “A Spirit of Dialogue,” with nearly 3,000 attendees tackling inequality, AI, geopolitics, and trade frictions, while Trump’s pro-business posture and his plans for a “Board of Peace” ensure he will loom large over the event.
A large U.S. delegation, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, is due to be in attendance.
Denmark chose not to send representatives amid the Greenland dispute, CNBC reported, underscoring how tense this summit is likely to be.
What Will Trump Speak About at Davos?
Trump is expected to center his address on housing-market reforms, including proposals to restrict large institutional home purchases and to direct government-backed entities to buy mortgage bonds to lower borrowing costs, according to Investopedia and the Associated Press.
Beyond domestic economics, the White House has signaled that Trump will use the speech to broaden the “Board of Peace” beyond Gaza, with a draft charter giving the president veto power over all decisions, and to court select countries to join, while facing skepticism from several European governments, Axios reported.
He has also made Greenland a focal point ahead of the forum, posting memes and AI-generated images appearing to claim territorial sovereignty over Greenland and Canada and sharing private texts with French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, while threatening tariffs on allied nations resisting a transfer of Greenland to U.S. control.
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Trump Davos Schedule
Trump is slated to deliver his WEF address on Wednesday, January 21, with WEF program materials listing a “Special Address by Donald J. Trump.”
According to the official WEF schedule, Trump’s address is in the mid‑afternoon, with the Davos session set for 2:30 to 3:15 p.m. local time (8:30 to 9:15 a.m. ET).
A notice on the WEF website states that the speech will be available to stream in real-time on the "watch live" page.
It says: “This is a livestreamed session. Simultaneous interpretation in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Russian, Ukrainian, and Spanish.”
Trump plans to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders during the week, while U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner intend to meet Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Tuesday to discuss Ukraine, according to Axios.
He also plans to host a Thursday event to launch the “Board of Peace,” officially intended to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, and which he will chair, according to Axios.
How Many Times Has Trump Spoken at Davos?
Trump has addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos twice in person—first in 2018 and again in 2020, the latter confirmed in the official White House transcript, noting it was his “second time as president.”
He also spoke virtually in 2025 during the early months of his second term, during which he promised to return in person this year, marking his first in‑person Davos appearance since 2020.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said: “Let’s put it this way: It’s going to be a very interesting Davos.”
Mirek Dušek, a WEF managing director in charge of programming, said: “It’s really going to be a discussion at a very important moment ... geopolitics is changing.”
Mirjam Hostetmann, president of Switzerland's Young Socialists, who are against the event, said: “It is worrying how Swiss politicians are courting warmongers and their profiteers in Davos. The WEF will never bring peace, but will only fuel escalation.”
Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy at the liberal Groundwork Collaborative, said: “At the end of the day, it’s the investors and billionaires at Davos who have his attention, not the families struggling to afford their bills.”
What Happens Next
EU countries were weighing a retaliatory tariff package as Denmark sent additional troops to Greenland, setting up a contentious Davos week and complicating planned discussions on Ukraine security and reconstruction.
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