(MENAFN- Swissinfo) 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. This content was published on November 21, 2025 - 09:24 5 minutes Mercedes Ruehl in Zurich, Henry Foy in Johannesburg and James Politi in Washington, Financial Times

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.

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“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Under Trump the US has withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement and suspended large swaths of American foreign aid - including programmes linked to climate change mitigation, women's and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”.

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