President Donald Trump Wednesday proclaimed the United States as the \u201ceconomic engine of the planet\u201d.<\/p>\n
The US President was addressing global CEOs at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, a day after his first anniversary since his return to the White House.<\/p>\n
Trump descended on Davos on Wednesday for a tense showdown with world leaders, as allies push back on his global order-shaking bid to seize control of Greenland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI come to this year\u2019s World Economic Forum with very phenomenal greetings from America.<\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday marked the first anniversary of my inauguration, and today, after one year back at the White House, our economy is booming, productivity is surging, investment is soaring, and incomes are rising. Inflation is being defeated. Our previously open border is closed and impenetrable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States is in the midst of the fastest and most dramatic economic turnaround in the country\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the Biden administration, the economy was plagued by the nightmare of stagflation, of low growth and high inflation, which was a recipe for misery and failure.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut now, after just one year of my policies, we have witnessed the exact opposite. No inflation and an extraordinarily high economic growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the past three months, core inflation has been just about 1.6 per cent. Meanwhile, fourth quarter growth is projected to be 4.6 per cent, far greater than I or even anybody predicted.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are doing well and are very happy with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the next four years, we have secured nothing less than $18 trillion in investments. When the final numbers come out, it will be close to about $20 trillion in investments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States economy is on pace to grow at double the rate that was projected by the IMF.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen America booms, the world booms. When we go down, the world goes down with us.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe economy is at a point I never thought we would be. My biggest surprise is that I thought the growth would take more than a year. But it has happened very quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow we have achieved this economic miracle and intend to keep it is to lift the living standard of our people as we have never done before. And how you, too, from the places you come from, can do much more because certain places in Europe are not even recognisable anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to insult anybody. I love Europe, and I want to see Europe good, but it is not heading in the right direction\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
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Tussle For Greenland<\/p>\n
Trump, who landed at Zurich after a delay due to a \u201cminor electrical issue\u201d that forced Air Force One to turn back after takeoff, mocked the Europeans a day before heading to the WEF.<\/p>\n
Trump had insisted that mineral-rich Greenland is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China as a melting Arctic opens up and the superpowers jostle for strategic advancement.<\/p>\n
But NATO chief Mark Rutte told Davos on Wednesday that \u201cthoughtful diplomacy\u201d was needed, as Trump\u2019s claims over another ally\u2019s territory provoke an existential crisis for the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are these tensions at the moment, there\u2019s no doubt,\u201d said Rutte, who has been dubbed the \u201cTrump whisperer\u201d for his ability to deal with the US president.<\/p>\n
France, meanwhile, called Wednesday for a NATO exercise in Greenland \u201cand is ready to contribute to it\u201d, French President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n
The French President had warned at Davos on Tuesday against US attempts to \u201csubordinate Europe\u201d, and blasted Trump\u2019s \u201cunacceptable\u201d threats to impose tariffs on allies over Greenland.<\/p>\n
Europe has threatened countermeasures after Trump turned up the pressure by threatening levies of up to 25 per cent on eight European countries for backing Denmark.<\/p>\n
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