President Donald Trump landed on Thursday in Switzerland, where his outsized personality and determination to push an 'America First' agenda is already upending the annual Davos conference.
To an extent, the annual confab of billionaires and CEOs was already centering around Trump even before Air Force One touched down in Zurich, then flew aboard Marine One to Davos in the Swiss Alps.
The approximately 40-minute trip took Trump over a snowy countryside dotted with houses, frosted mountains and a glistening lake.
As Trump got off the helicopter in Davos, he gestured to aides who held him by the arms as he walked across the snowy landing zone to his waiting car.
'We're very happy to be here,' Trump said as he arrived. 'The United States is doing very well, and will continue to do well and this will be a very exciting two days.'
He said he was bringing a message of 'peace and prosperity' to the gathering of world leaders, business executives and celebrities.
Trump waved to a bank of cameras when he arrived, before being immediately whisked away to the annual gathering of heads of state and business leaders where he had a one-on-one meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May.
He then had a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the two reaffirmed the historic decision by the United States to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
President Donald Trump opens up his arms as he arrives at the Congress Center during the 48th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland
Trump had meetings with British Prime Minister Theresa May and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the conference
Trump flew to the town of Davos by helicopter from Zurich, where he arrived Thursday morning after flying overnight from Washington
The world's political and business elite headed on January 25 into a compelling encounter with President Donald Trump as the United States bids to carve out a competitive edge in trade, taxes and currency rates
Senior Advisor to the U.S. President Donald Trump Jared Kushner arrives at Davos alongside his father-in-law President Donald Trump
Before the arrival of Trump it was German Chancellor Angela Merkel who got most of the press as she took on isolationism and protectionism in her remarks here Wednesday, while French President Emmanuel Macron took a dig at Trump over global warming.
Trump's advisers have said that he will give a full-throated defense of his 'America First' policies in a Friday speech, at a time when the conference is wrapping up.
The president was not accompanied by his wife Melania, who pulled out of the trip at short notice following allegations that he had an affair with a porn star.
While the president is expected to declare that the United States is open for business, the protectionist-leaning president's attendance at the annual gathering for free-trade-loving political and business elites has raised eyebrows.
Video playing bottom right...
Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%
0:32
ExpandClose
A squadron of helicopters swooped out of a red morning sky and into Zurich airport on Thursday morning ahead of the arrival of President Trump, who was due to stop there before moving on to Davos
President Donald Trump landed Thursday in Switzerland, where his 'America First' agenda is already upending Davos
The President's 'Marine One' helicopter touched down at Davos after taking him to the ski resort from Zurich airport
The president was not accompanied by his wife Melania, who pulled out of the trip at short notice following allegations that he had an affair with a porn star.
Marine One carrying US President Donald Trump lands at the heliport during Trump's arrival at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum
Marine One carrying US President Donald Trump lands at the heliport prior to the economic conference in Davos
The president's motorcade then made its way through the streets of the town after his helicopter touched down
President Donald Trump is trying to dispel the perception that he and British Prime Minister Theresa May don't get along
His decision to sign new tariffs boosting American manufacturers this week has prompted fresh concerns about his nationalist tendencies.
Trump also seemed eager to dispel concerns about his global leadership.
'WE LOVE YOU': TRUMP GREETS MAY IN DAVOS
Donald Trump vowed to 'fight for' Britain today as he and Theresa May put on a gushing show of unity in a bid to kill concerns about the state of the Special Relationship.
The US president stressed the warmth of ties as he met the Prime Minister for talks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, saying they 'respect each other a lot' and were on the 'same wavelength'.
As Mrs May nodded in agreement, Mr Trump said he wanted to correct 'false rumours' that they did not get on.
'I think the feeling is mutual from the standpoint of liking each other a lot,' he said. 'We love your country.'
He added: ‘There is nothing that would happen to you that we wont be there to fight for you – you know that.'
Mrs May replied: ‘As you say we had a great discussion today and we continue to have that really special relationship with the United States.
'We stand shoulder to shoulder because we face the same challenges around the world.’
The effusive praise came despite claims of rising tensions, with reports Mr Trump keeps interrupting the PM on the phone and his state visit invite has turned into a 'nightmare'. There was an extraordinary public row last year after Mr Trump retweeted anti-Muslim posts by a British Far Right group.
As the leaders sat awkwardly next to each other for photographs this afternoon, they said they would be 'talking about' the state visit.
During his meeting with May, Trump said the two leaders have a 'really great relationship, although some people don't necessarily believe that.' He said it was a 'false rumor' that the relationship was strained and that he wanted to 'correct it.'
'We are very much joined at the hip when it comes to the military. We have the same ideas, the same ideals, and there's nothing that would happen to you that we won't be there to fight for you,' he told May. 'You know that.'
Trump hosted May at the White House days after he took office.
But he recently canceled a planned trip to London to celebrate the opening of the new U.S. embassy.
And last year, Trump and May traded criticism over his retweets of a far-right group's anti-Muslim videos.
Britain is eager to strike a free trade deal with the U.S. after it leaves the EU in 2019.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that U.S. is ready to negotiate an 'attractive' trade deal with Britain once the country has left the European Union.
Trump's 'America First' agenda and aversion to multilateral trade agreements would seem at odds with a global summit that stresses free trade and international cooperation.
But U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin got to Davos ahead of Trump and insisted Wednesday that the United States supports free trade.
'America First' does mean working with the rest of the world,' said Mnuchin, who is leading the largest U.S. delegation ever to attend the exclusive gathering. 'It just means that President Trump is looking out for American workers and American interests, no different than he expects other leaders would look out for their own.'
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross argued that new U.S. tariffs on imported solar-energy components and large washing machines are meant to deal with 'inappropriate behavior' by other countries and are not protectionist. Still, Ross conceded that China could respond by imposing its own tariffs on U.S. products.
As he signed the tariffs, Trump said he was heading to Davos to talk 'about investing in the United States again.'
The president is set to address the forum Friday. He is expected to showcase the booming U.S. economy and measures like his recent tax overhaul, claiming that a thriving America benefits the world. A vocal critic of trade deals he sees as unfair to the United States, Trump will also stress the need for what he sees as fair competition.
Trump says he and Theresa May have a 'great relationship' at Davos
Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%
0:00
No hard feelings: U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Theresa May during their meeting on Thursday in Davos
The president has criticized global pacts, withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership on trade, demanding changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement and announcing his intent to exit the Paris climate accord.
In the lead-up to Trump's arrival, other leaders at the meeting have argued against any drift toward protectionism in the global economy. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said new barriers to trade could pose a danger on a par with climate change and extremist attacks. And Canada's Justin Trudeau revealed that his country and the 10 remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership have revised their trade deal following the U.S. withdrawal.
During his stay in Switzerland, Trump is also planning to hobnob with other world leaders at a reception the White House said is being held in his honor. He'll also court European business leaders to try to persuade them to invest in the U.S.
PM Theresa May holds President Trump's hand outside White House
Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%
0:00
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Davos - where the two reaffirmed the historic decision by the United States to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel
The campaign organisation Campax protested against US President Trump's visit to Switzerland
But it was Trump's unexpected comments about Robert Mueller's Russia probe that made headlines as he took off for Europe.
'I'm looking forward to it, actually,' Trump, told reporters in a surprise press availability in the White House. 'I would do it under oath,' he said.
Trump's posture – wary of global pacts to fight climate change and blasting global trade deals as a 'ripoff' to the U.S. – as adverse to some of the overall sentiment at an event that brings celebrities, U.S. politicians and operatives from both parties, and leaders from around the world together.
The theme of the 2018 conference is 'Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World.'
First Lady Melania Trump did not accompany her husband on the trip. Her office cited logistical issues, and Trump did not announce his own intention to visit until weeks before the event began, leaving staff scrambling to find accommodations for the president's retinue.
Trump's advisors have forecast that he will give a full-throated defense of his 'America First' policies in a Friday speech, at a time when the conference is wrapping up
Trump is also planning to hobnob with other world leaders at a reception the White House said is being held in his honor
Air Force One touches down at Zurich airport, from where President Trump boarded a helicopter to Davos
A heavily armoured police vehicle sits on the tarmac at Zurich awaiting the arrival of President Trump on board Marine One
Other than a trip to Mar-a-Lago, the first lady has not been seen with the president since a Wall Street Journal report that Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels just weeks before the 2016 campaign as part of a nondisclosure agreement. Daniels said in previous interviews that have since been published that she had a sexual affair with the president – something Trump denies.
Macron, who is getting a state visit to the U.S. in a high honor, rapped Trump in his opening remarks here.
'When you arrive here and see the snow, it could be hard to believe in global warming,' he joked. 'Obviously you don't invite anyone skeptical about global warming this year.'
Trump previewed how he would herald the U.S. in a tweet shortly before he took off.
'Will soon be heading to Davos, Switzerland, to tell the world how great America is and is doing. Our economy is now booming and with all I am doing, will only get better...Our country is finally WINNING again!' he wrote.
Trump's Commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, has warned new U.S. trade actions could be coming.
But Alibaba CEO Jack Ma warned here: 'Don't use trade as a weapon.' He added: 'It's so easy to launch a trade war, but it's so difficult to stop the disaster of this war.'
Security at the secretive mountain resort of Davos was ramped up on Thursday morning ahead of the arrival of
President Trump.
A tight operation was also in place in Zurich, where the President was due to stop briefly before being ferried to Davos, with heavily armoured police vehicles guarding the tarmac.
Helicopters swooped low out of a red morning sky like a scene from Vietnam war film Apocalypse Now ahead of the President's arrival.
Trump boarded Marine One out of Washington on Wednesday evening and was expected to arrive in Zurich by mid-morning Thursday, before being ferried to Davos.
US helicopters stop to refuel at Zurich airport before escorting Trump to Davos, where he is due to spend the next two days speaking with world and business leaders
In Davos itself security was also being stepped up, with snipers positioned on rooftops around the ski resort
A Swiss Army helicopter patrols the skies above Davos, where the World Economic Forum is being held this week
First Lady Melania Trump did not accompany her husband to Davos, due to 'scheduling and logistical issues,' according to her office
He will spend two days mingling among the 'globalists' he spent much of the 2016 election campaign trashing, before delivering a speech on Friday.
The President is expected to push his America First agenda and seek more fair, reciprocal trade deals with allies, having bemoaned chronic trade deficits with many of them in the past.
'America first is not America alone,' said White House senior economic adviser Gary Cohn, who is traveling with Trump. 'When we grow, the world grows; when the world grows, we grow. We're part of it, and we're part of a world economy. And the president believes that.'
Trump, never invited as a businessman, will be the first U.S. president to attend Davos since Bill Clinton in 2000.
In the run-up to his trip to Davos, Trump slapped a 30 per cent tariff on imported solar panels, among the first unilateral trade restrictions imposed by the administration as part of a broader protectionist agenda.
Then on Wednesday in Davos, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he welcomed a weakening in the dollar. Fears of protectionist trade policies by the United States had already pushed the greenback to a three-year low, and Mnuchin's remark pushed it down further.
President Trump departs for World Economic Forum in Davos
Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%
0:00
Trump left Washington on board Marine One on Wednesday night bound for Davos, where he promised to push his America First agenda among globalist leaders he spent the 2016 election campaign trashing
Marine One took Trump to Andrews Air Force Base where he switched to Air Force One before heading to Switzerland
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One for a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos
Donald Trump issued this tweet before leaving for Davos on Wednesday, outlining his priorities for the summit
Trump will use his trip for some diplomacy. In addition to the meetings with British Prime Minister Theresa May and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, the president will see Rwandan President Paul Kagame, current chairman of the African Union, and Swiss President Alain Berset on Friday.
Iran's growing influence in the Middle East, North Korea's nuclear challenge and the battle against Islamic State militants figured to be prominent topics of his meetings.
French President Emmanuel Macron told RTS channel that he had 'strongly recommended' to Trump to attend the Davos forum during a recent phone conversation they had on Iran ... 'because I think it's a good thing for President Trump to explain his strategy for the U.S. and the world here in Davos.
'And that he encounters some form of confrontation and dialogue,' Macron said.
Trump will host a small dinner for European business executives on Thursday night.
There is broad concern in European capitals that 2018 could be the year Trump's bark on trade turns into bite, as he considers punitive measures on steel and threatens to end the 90s-era North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
Trump will appeal for increased global investment in the United States to take advantage of corporate tax cuts approved by Congress late in 2017 and Trump's deregulatory policies.
