DAVOS: Shrugging off his impeachment trial back home, US President Donald Trump came out all guns blazing at the WEF summit here on Tuesday as he lauded the unprecedented economic boom in the United States and exhorted other nations to follow the American example of lower taxes and reduced regulations.
In his characteristic style, Trump also claimed that he shares an “extraordinary” relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and negotiations for the second phase of the US-China trade deal will commence soon. Without directly mentioning climate change, Trump said he believed forecasts of apocalypse by the “perennial prophets of doom” were wrong.
In a special address at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual summit, Trump said since he last addressed Davos two years ago, the US has enjoyed the “great American comeback” that he had predicted.
“Today I am proud to declare that the United States is in the midst of an economic boom the like of which has never been seen before,” he said. The American dream is back and better than ever, Trump said. According to him, 11 million jobs have been gained by America since his election and average unemployment rate is the lowest for the tenure of any US President in history.
Talking about reforms undertaken by his government, he said, “I knew that if we unleashed the potential of our people, cut taxes, slashed regulation, fixed broken trade deals and fully tapped American energy, that prosperity would come thundering back and that is exactly what happened.”
“Years of economic stagnation have given way to a roaring geyser of opportunity,” he added.
“We have launched a historic step of removing job killing regulations. We are removing all archaic laws. Today I urge the nations to follow our example and liberate their citizens from the shackles of bureaucracy and other archaic laws. There is no better place on the earth than the United States,” the President asserted.
Amid simmering trade tensions between the US and China, Trump said the relationship with China has never been better. “We went through a rough patch, but things are good now,” he remarked.
The first phase of the trade deal between the two economic majors was signed recently, which has helped in reducing trade tensions which have been a major concern for the global economy. Trump added that he shares a great relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “My relationship with Xi is extraordinary. He’s for China, I’m for the US but other than that, we love each other,” the American president said.
The second phase of negotiations for the US-China trade deal would begin soon and the administration is focussing on trade, which was neglected by his predecessors, Trump noted.
He also said that to embrace the possibilities of tomorrow, we must reject the perennial prophets of doom and their predictions of the apocalypse. “They are the heirs of yesterday’s foolish fortune tellers… They want to see us do badly, but we don’t let that happen. They predicted an overpopulation crisis in the 1960s, mass starvation in the 70s, and an end of oil in the 80s. They always want to dominate, transform and control every aspect of our lives.
“We will never let radical socialism destroy our economy and wreck our country or eradicate our liberty,” he said. Speaking at a session earlier in the day, young climate campaigner Greta Thunberg said a lot has happened since her campaign caught the eyes of the world but “nothing has been done” actually to save the planet.
While many leaders in Davos are talking about the need to end the use of fossil fuels, Trump said it was good news for all that the US was now “the number-one producer of natural gas, by far”.
“While many European countries struggle with crippling energy costs, the American energy revolution is saving American families USD 2,500 every year,” he said, adding that the US no longer needs to import energy from hostile nations.
“With an abundance of American natural gas now available, our European allies now no longer have to be vulnerable to unfriendly energy suppliers either. We urge our friends in Europe use America’s vast supply and achieve true energy security,” he noted.
While Trump was speaking some people circulated a document, purportedly as a ‘fact check’ on various claims made by the Trump administration. PTI
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