Davos assured Trump ‘woke’ topics were off the agenda

Donald Trump attended the 48th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2018. Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

Donald Trump agreed to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos in January after organisers gave assurances that overtly “woke” topics would not feature prominently at the annual Alpine gathering, according to people familiar with the talks.

At a meeting in the autumn, Trump administration officials asked WEF officials to scrub or pare back unwanted agenda themes as a condition of the US president’s participation, multiple people familiar with the negotiations told the Financial Times.

Washington announced last week Trump would return to the Swiss event in person for the first time in six years. His last appearance was a virtual address days after his inauguration in January, when he called on the gathered business elite to make their products in the US or face tariffs.

Senior US officials asked Davos management to tone down or avoid discussions on areas including female empowerment and diversity, the green transition, climate change and international development finance as a condition of his participation, two of the people said.

“The US side wanted to make sure Trump’s appearance at the elite, progressive event would still play well with his Maga base,” one of the people said.

One of the people said the WEF, which had already become more pragmatic about the global geopolitical backdrop, was able to offer such “reassurances” to Trump administration officials.

The Trump administration’s pressure on WEF regarding these issues echoed demands made in other multilateral forums as the price for continued US participation, a third person said.

US withdrawals and suspended aid

Under Trump the US has withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement and suspended large swaths of American foreign aid — including programmes linked to climate change mitigation, women’s and girls’ health and rights, and global development. He has also ordered an end to federal government diversity efforts.

“As President Trump remarked at the UN, the world would benefit from adopting America’s focus on economic security, secure borders, and peace through strength over woke ideology,” a White House spokesperson said in response to questions regarding negotiations with the WEF.

The WEF said: “no government influences our editorial independence or the agenda of our meetings”, adding: “We select meeting themes and topics based on global relevance.”

Another person familiar with the discussions described the talks as “routine” for officials representing the heads of state attending the invitation-only event.

“The WEF would never agree to any requests to shape or change the agenda, however it is normal that topics and discussions for stakeholders attending the summit would come up at such a meeting,” the person said.

‘A Spirit of Dialogue’

The 2026 Davos meeting’s theme is “A Spirit of Dialogue”. Discussions will be centred around five global challenges: co-operation in a contested world, unlocking new sources of growth, investing in people, deploying innovation responsibly and building prosperity “within planetary boundaries”.

In previous years the forum has leaned more heavily into climate and social-agenda themes. In 2019 student activist Greta Thunberg delivered a speech warning that “our house is on fire” and urged leaders to act on the climate crisis.

In 2020 the forum launched the “Great Reset” of capitalism, a post-pandemic initiative promoting sustainability, inclusion and systemic change. The recovery plan inspired false rumours about the creation of a globalist, elite plot to dismantle capitalism.

WEF reported revenues of SFr469mn ($585mn) for the year ending June 2025. It has diversified global sponsorship including some big US companies.

WEF tries to steady after turmoil

The WEF has been embroiled in turmoil for nearly 18 months, triggered by whistleblower allegations that prompted two formal investigations into the organisation’s governance and the conduct of its founder, Klaus Schwab.

Schwab stepped down after more than five decades at the helm earlier this year. The probes — which found no material wrongdoing but cited minor irregularities — have continued to overshadow the institution.

The WEF is now attempting to steady itself with new interim leadership. In August it named BlackRock boss Larry Fink and Roche vice-chair André Hoffmann as its new co-chairs and pledged tighter oversight.

The forum said in October that registration for the event had already reached a record high. It expects to have more than 60 heads of state and government attend in January, as well as 300 government leaders and 1,600 representatives of businesses and NGOs.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025