Trump delivers key speech at Davos after suggesting Biden should have pardoned himself during Hannity interview: Live
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Donald Trump is addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, via video link. This is his first major speech to global business and political leaders since taking office on Monday.
There has been no official word on what he will discuss but the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East will likely feature, as well as his threats of steep tariffs.
On Wednesday night, the president appeared on Fox News with Sean Hannity for his first TV interview since returning to the White House.
Trump took questions on everything from his controversial decision to pardon almost all January 6 defendants, even those who had assaulted police officers, the future of TikTok, and the federal response to the Los Angeles wildfires.
Trump reflected that it was “sad” that his predecessor, Joe Biden, did not pardon himself before leaving office, hinting darkly that he could be placed under investigation, and also suggested he could shut down the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Elsewhere, the Bishop of Washington, Mariann Edgar Budde, has said she will not apologize to the president for imploring him to “have mercy” on illegal immigrants and trans youth during a church service on Tuesday.
Trump demands interest rates ‘drop immediately’
“I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately,” President Donald Trump told the audience at Davos. “And likewise, they should be dropping all over the world. Interest rates should follow us all over.”
Oliver O’Connell23 January 2025 16:28
Trump wants NATO members to up defense spending again
President Donald Trump told Davos that he wants NATO members to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense, up from the current 2 percent target. No member state currently spends as much as that.
In 2024, the top NATO countries for defense spending as a percentage of GDP were:
- Poland: 4.12%
- Estonia: 3.43%
- United States: 3.38%
- Latvia: 3.15%
- United Kingdom: 2.3%
Oliver O’Connell23 January 2025 16:25
Trump tells Davos: ‘They say that there’s light shining all over the world since the election’
“They say that there’s light shining all over the world since the election,” President Donald Trump tells Davos in a virtual address.
“Under the Trump administration, there will be no better place on earth to create jobs bill, factories, or grow a company than right here in the good old USA.”
“My message to every business in the world is very simple, come make your product in America and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation of earth… but if you don’t make your product in America than very simply, you will have to pay a tariff.”
“We’re working with the Democrats on getting an extension of the original Trump tax cuts. … We’re bringing them down very substantially, even from the original Trump tax cuts.”
“I’m also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil. … If the price came down, the Russia, Ukraine war would end immediately.”
Oliver O’Connell23 January 2025 16:19
Watch LIVE: Trump delivers first major global speech as president to World Economic Forum in Davos
Oliver O’Connell23 January 2025 15:59
Trump’s VA pick head to full Senate for confirmation vote
The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee voted 18-1 to approve former Georgia Republican Congressman Doug Collins’ nomination as the next Secretary of the Veterans Administration. The committee will now favorably send the nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
Oliver O’Connell23 January 2025 15:51
Watch: Murkowski has concerns over Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense
Oliver O’Connell23 January 2025 15:48
Watchdog says Donald and Melania Trump aim to make ‘as much as they can’ during their second White House stint
The new president and first lady are only days into their second administration and already are looking set to benefit financially from a number of ventures that experts say are ethically problematic.
Oliver O’Connell23 January 2025 15:45
‘Give President Trump a little time’ on Ukraine, says Grenell
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, speaking at a breakfast on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum hosted by Ukrainian tycoon Victor Pinchuk, urged Ukraine’s Western backers to continue supporting the country nearly three years into the war.
“If we got a bad deal, it would only mean that we will see the president of Russia high-fiving with the leaders from North Korea, Iran, and China, and we cannot accept that,” Rutte said. “That would be geopolitically a big, big mistake.”
Richard Grenell, Trump’s nominee as envoy for special missions, said by video from Los Angeles that Trump faced “a terrible mess” and “not a lot of great choices” in efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
“President Trump is somebody who has a credible threat and has already made clear that he’s going to pressure both sides to end this. He’s focused on trying to stop the killing,” the envoy-designate said.
Putting more pressure on Putin — economic or military — remained a “legitimate option” for Trump, Grenell said.
“I would say just give President Trump a little time,” he said.
Trump puts a freeze on new civil rights cases and settlements
The Department of Justice has instructed the civil rights division to freeze all new cases or investigations and indicated it would re-evaluate Biden administration policies in a memo sent on Wednesday – the latest shake-up in President Donald Trump’s takeover.
The letter, sent by the chief of staff to the attorney general, instructs the temporary head of the department to ensure civil rights attorneys do not file “any new complaints, motions to intervene, agreed-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest,” according to a screenshot viewed by The New York Times.
Ariana Baio has the details.
Oliver O’Connell23 January 2025 15:35
