Europe not heading in right direction, Trump tells Davos

The president echoed criticisms he had made of Europe in his United Nations address last year and his administration’s latest national security statements.

“I love Europe and I want to see Europe go good, but it’s not heading in the right direction,” he said.

Within 20 minutes of starting his speech, Mr Trump had criticised Europe several times.

He said he was European in heritage and wants to see it do well, but argued European countries are “destroying themselves”.

On windmills, immigration and trade, he tore into the continent, while many of its leaders were in his presence at the conference.

“Certain places in Europe are not even recognisable,” he said. “Here in Europe, we’ve seen the fate that the radical left tried to impose upon America.”

It was standing room only inside Congress Hall as Davos awaited Mr Trump’s highly anticipated speech.

Hundreds of people, including several tech titans, sought a coveted seat inside the hall.

Mr Trump touted economic growth in the US, using many of his characteristic superlatives that exaggerate circumstances on the ground.

“The USA is the economic engine on the planet,” Trump said. “You all follow us down, and you follow us up.”

Mr Trump credited his tariff policies, which allies have harshly criticised ahead of his arrival at Davos. The president has also repeated his false claims that he inherited record inflation and has completely eliminated it.

His economic framing is similar to how he reviewed his first year back in power in a lengthy White House press briefing on Tuesday before he travelled to Europe.

In the first part of his Davos speech, Mr Trump touted America’s finances and living standards, which he said he achieved against expectations.

“Virtually all of the so-called experts predicted my plans to end this failed model would trigger a global recession and runaway inflation,” he said. “But we have proven them wrong.”

Mr Trump said he wanted to spend the day discussing “how we have achieved this economic miracle” and suggested, as he did from the White House yesterday, that other countries in attendance could learn from his success.

Distant protesters made their voices, though not their words, heard from the steps outside the Congress Centre as Mr Trump addressed the gathering of elites.

Their words were too faint to be discernible, but they appeared to express angry opposition to Mr Trump.

The president referenced a recent push by his administration to get tech companies to bid on contracts to build new power plants, so that data centre operators, not consumers, pay for their own power needs.

“They’re building their own power plants, which when added up is more than any country anywhere in the world is doing,” Mr Trump said.