President Donald Trump will be taking his “America First” message “into the lion’s den” when he addresses the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said Tuesday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.”
“I think that’s why [Trump’s] going to Davos, to take the message into the lion’s den,” Bolton said. “And it should be quite a confrontation.”
Thousands of economists, business leaders, and global politicians attend the annual forum in Davos — a veritable bastion of globalism — for the purpose of “improving the state of the world,” as its website states.
Trump is traveling to the forum Wednesday and is set to deliver a speech Friday in which he will tout his accomplishments and make the case for why his “America First” policies make the U.S. both economically friendly and competitive in the global economy.
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Bolton told host Laura Ingraham there is an “element of risk to it” involved in Trump’s appearance at the forum that will provide him with a key opportunity to capitalize on his administration’s successes after the U.S. government shutdown ended Monday.
“I think coming off this triumph of the Democratic collapse on the budget confrontation, the tax cuts in December — I think it’s time to build up some momentum,” Bolton said.
Ingraham pointed to a Gallup ranking of world leaders from last week showing that Trump fell 18 percentage points below former President Barack Obama in global popularity. A U.S. News and World Report “Best Countries” ranking released Tuesday found that Trump held the highest disapproval rating among global and political leaders at 58 percent.
“This doesn’t tell us there’s something wrong with Donald Trump. It tells us there’s something wrong with the Europeans,” Bolton said. “I mean, one of the reasons that we’re down in Europe in particular is the new revelation that Donald Trump is not Barack Obama.”
“Well, of course, the Europeans liked Barack Obama’s policies. They thought he was a European just like them,” Bolton continued. “Look, any American president who cares about polls like these is the wrong choice for the job.”
Bolton also took a swipe at former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) for the virulently anti-Trump criticism he voiced during a January 14 interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
McAuliffe said, “He is the president of the United States of America. That comes with the responsibility of moral leadership. You are the beacon of hope for so many countries around the globe. He embarrasses us.”
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Bolton noted that “the duty of the president of the United States is to advance American interests. If Terry McAuliffe or others want to say it’s the duty of the president of the United States to advance some other country’s interests, why don’t they come out and say it?”
Ingraham wondered if Trump was so unpopular with global leaders because “he’s boldly defending America on the world stage and he stating that he’s uncomfortable with some of the globalist policies among the way.”
“Of course they hate that,” Ingraham said. “OK, the media and the Left cannot accept the reality that Trump is for the USA, first and foremost.”
PoliZette writer Kathryn Blackhurst can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter.
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