Davos

1. Davos awaits Trump
2. What’s on today
3. What you may have missed
4. The new language of Davos
5. Heard on the Promenade
6. Glass ceiling
7. Scenes
8. Texting with DealBook’s Sorkin

Also: Today in Trump, the president takes a harder line on Moscow.

Forum fathers to inhale Donald Trump’s animal spirits

Is there any feeling more helpless than anticipating a high-stakes videocall? Will the connection work? Will your partner show up, pay attention, or have any idea who he’s talking to?

We’ll find out at what is effectively the end of the World Economic Forum at 5 p.m. today when the American president hits the big screen. (That is, unless you’re planning to stick around to the subsequent sessions, which include “Flexibility 2.0” and “Art with a Mission.”)

The 2025 WEF started late this year and felt light. The action has been elsewhere, and the happiest executives we have talked to are the ones who spent more time than usual at Parsenn. The phrase on executives’ lips is “animal spirits,” which captures the unquestioned dynamism of the US economy — particularly as seen from Europe — and carries just a touch of menace.

The early lesson for the business leaders here is that Trump is what Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson called the “proximity president.” They are restless to get into the room with him. American, and even European, CEOs are looking for excuses to travel to Washington and call on the White House. (May I suggest our April World Economy Summit as a good one.)

The mountaintop’s official optimism has attendees looking back to past presidents for analogies. Some recall Reagan and the boom of the ’80s. David Rubenstein told us Trump is the most empowered president since FDR. A tech executive offered another one, intended, we think, as hopeful: Calvin Coolidge, who pronounced (before the shocks of the late ’20s) that “the business of America is business.”

What’s On Today

8.15 a.m.: Brunch at Bloomberg with designer Diane von Furstenberg and Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency @ Bloomberg House

10.15 a.m.: Special address from Argentina’s President Javier Milei @ Davos-Klosters

10.45 a.m.: Technology in the world with Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, Marc Benioff of Salesforce, Pfizer’s Albert Bourla, Mark Rutte, Secretary-General of NATO, Alphabet and Google’s Ruth Porat, and Dara Khosrowshahi of Uber @ Davos-Klosters

4.15 p.m.: Can national security keep up with AI? With Nick Clegg, Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group, and Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, European Commission @ Davos-Klosters

4.30 p.m.: Playbook for growth with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, hosted by WaPo @ The Hard Rock Hotel

5 p.m.: Special address from US President Donald Trump @ Davos-Klosters

9 p.m.: Salesforce nightcap with a “special musical guest” (rumored to be Duran Duran?!) @ Cabanna Club Promenade 63

9.30 p.m.: Politico and MIT Media Lab week lookback and nightcap @ Goals House

TL;DR

We read the big Davos thumb-suckers so you don’t have to:

Tag yourself: Politico says there are 11 tribes in Davos, including the “second fiddles… ministers who will take a private car to the mountain, dine at the Steakhouse Ochsen and… end up at Barry’s Piano Bar like the rest of us.”

Winds of change: The winds of deregulation “are blowing towards Europe and the UK, where you can see governments understanding what’s going on in the US and trying to see what aspects of their own regulation they should ease up on,” Barclays CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan told CNBC.

Big year for consultants: AI, the strong US economy, and the “pro-growth sentiment in the market as a result of the incoming administration” add up to good business for consulting firms, BCG’s Sharon Marcil tells Business Insider.

Climate plans: Europe will “stay the course” on climate change, as will many corporations, The New York Times reports. China has offered itself as an ally.

Vibes are vibing: Top bankers are anticipating “an explosion in deals” as the Trump administration settles in, Bloomberg writes. JPMorgan’s co-head of global banking Filippo Gori cited “a sense of euphoria,” while BoA’s Brian Moynihan said there’s “a lot of enthusiasm.”

Development agenda fades in Trump-era Davos

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was in fine form at Tuesday’s opening speeches, with a vision which prioritizes international cooperation and multilateralism while putting Africa at the heart of the global order.

It might have struck the right notes with a certain kind of Davos attendee, while also trying to meet the moment we seem to all be in — but in truth it seemed almost quaint.

Most of the conversations I’ve had here (and overheard) have basically been about a new world order in Trump 2.0. This new era effectively resets a lot of the language and talking points which had filtered down into mainstream development economics discourse for the past couple of decades.

Talk of inclusive growth and equality is still very much here, but you’re not hearing it shared with the same gusto you perhaps once did in recent years. In fact, people I’ve been speaking with tell me this year’s gathering is giving “low energy” in discussions around development. Philosophical discussions about making the world better are out; AI, big data, and even crypto are in.

— Yinka Adegoke

What Was Said

Introducing The CEO Signal from Semafor Business, an exclusive, invitation-only membership for chief executives of the world’s largest companies.

Helmed by veteran Financial Times editor Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, the initiative builds on the success of Liz Hoffman’s Semafor Business and sets a new standard for how global leaders connect, learn, and navigate future challenges. Focusing on exclusivity over scale, the platform will be offering candid, practical insights and interviews tailored for global CEOs who are short on time and seek actionable intelligence.

• All eyes will be on President Donald Trump’s virtual address to the World Economic Forum today. In particular, leaders and business elites will be looking for clues of his plans for handling global conflicts like the war in Ukraine and US economic policy.
• In a potentially positive signal for Kyiv, Trump is taking a harder line on Russia than in the past, threatening Moscow with harsher sanctions and tariffs if it does not engage in negotiations to end its war in Ukraine.
• Trump is readying for his first domestic trip later this week, with planned stops in disaster-ravaged areas of California and North Carolina.
• Trump’s immigration crackdown is coming into further focus, as the Justice Department prepares to prosecute local officials who don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and devotes more resources and personnel to the effort.
• House and Senate Republicans are still trying to get on the same page on a strategy to move Trump’s ambitious legislative agenda.

Boys’ Club

Seen and Heard

• “It’s very funny. Sometimes there are business guys and they are walking seriously down the street and they see the dog and they are like ‘Oh, hello!’” — A DHL employee wrangling Daisy, one of the robots from Boston Dynamics that the logistics group is piloting in its warehouses.
• “The Americans usually bring the joviality and the Europeans usually go with the vibe — now the Americans are exporting their anxiety” — Overhead on the Promenade.

• Spotted: David Blain doing magic for Brian Moynihan, Wyclef Jean, and will.i.am
• Also spotted at Goals House: Demis Hassabis and Rachel Reeves playing chess

One Good Text

Andrew Ross Sorkin is the founder and editor-at-large of DealBook.

Congressional Republicans who voted to force TikTok to divest or risk a US ban are in a serious bind thanks to President Donald Trump’s attempt to delay implementation of the law, Semafor’s Kadia Goba and Morgan Chalfant report.

Except that only a few of them are acknowledging that in public.

“The law is very clear, right? If you don’t have a deal, and if TikTok wasn’t sold to an American company by January 19, or at least have a contract,” then the ban takes effect, California GOP Rep. Young Kim told Semafor.