Trump came to the WEF in Davos in 2020 (here with founder Klaus Schwab).Image: keystone
Without having already been invited, Donald Trump announced to the WEF that he wanted to come to Davos in 2026. CH Media reports this exclusively. The organizers are confronted with sensitive questions – as is Switzerland.
Oct 22, 2025, 05:06Oct 22, 2025, 05:14
The US President wants to travel to Davos in person for the third time next year, after 2018 and 2020. CH Media reports this exclusively citing two independent sources, one from the Federal Council and one from the WEF inner circle. According to the report, Trump invited himself. According to an insider, WEF officials themselves have not yet approached Trump.
Trump’s plans are sensitive for Switzerland, but also for the WEF. At the political level, the Federal Council has so far had difficulty dealing with the US President. In the context of the customs dispute, the current Federal President Karin Keller-Sutter in particular can sing a song about the difficulty of dealing with the US Zampano.
Your current deputy and successor as Federal President in 2026, Guy Parmelin, is likely to face a delicate test at the beginning of his term of office with Trump’s visit to Davos in January. Traditionally, the Federal President personally meets heads of state participating in the WEF. Since the relationship with the USA is particularly strained in terms of economic policy, Parmelin would have to demonstrate a lot of diplomatic flair at such a meeting. For the experienced Romand, this would also be an opportunity to improve Switzerland’s position.
Guy Parmelin could face a hot baptism of fire in his second term as Federal President.Image: keystone
Trump’s self-invitation is also not without risk for the new WEF bosses. On the one hand, you should be pleased that the US President is paying his respects in Davos. Trump’s presence is undoubtedly beneficial to the global relevance of the economic forum, especially after the scandalous departure of WEF founder Klaus Schwab caused major upheavals within the organization in the spring.
But according to the CH Media report, Trump’s visit also causes nervousness. On the one hand, because the WEF stands for completely different positions than Trump’s policies, such as global free trade or a strong condemnation of the Russian war against Ukraine.
On the other hand, Trump’s appearance would be delicate on a personal level. The WEF will now be led by two co-presidents, Roche heir André Hoffmann and BlackRock founder Larry Fink. While Fink has good relations with the US President, Hoffmann has stood out as a staunch critic of Trump in the past.
Most recently, the Roche Vice President was critical of the appointment of vaccine and science skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health Minister in Trump’s cabinet. The US President’s environmental policy has also long been a thorn in Hoffmann’s side.
In the past, André Hoffmann described Trump as a “corrupt old man”.Image: keystone
But Hoffmann can hardly afford open criticism anymore. Because Roche, like the entire pharmaceutical industry, is under particular pressure in the USA. Trump wants to force lower drug prices and relocation of production to the USA. And since such negotiations in the USA are now hardly fact-based any more, but depend primarily on the personal relationship with the US President, it seems more advisable from a business perspective not to prick the 79-year-old with open criticism.
It can therefore be assumed that BlackRock founder Larry Fink in particular would take on Trump in Davos and Hoffmann would stay in the background. There are already concrete considerations about this, as CH Media writes: For example, Trump should only be greeted on stage by Fink and Hoffmann should deliberately stay away.
Trump’s visit has not yet been officially confirmed, neither by the WEF nor by the federal government. The US President is known for changing his plans impulsively and at short notice, which is why there will probably remain a certain amount of uncertainty until the start of the forum on January 19, 2026 as to whether Trump will actually arrive.
Despite Trump’s volatility, the Federal Council and local authorities would do well to prepare for his appearance in Switzerland and to address certain questions. For example, how demonstrations should be handled. Traditionally, anti-capitalist circles protested in Davos – if Trump appeared, the need to express dissatisfaction would probably not only be great in these circles.
But the US president, who shows narcissistic behavior, reacts extremely sensitively to any criticism of his person, as was seen again in the recent “No Kings” protests in the USA. Not approving such demonstrations and thus curtailing the civil liberties anchored in Switzerland would be delicate in terms of democratic policy. These are questions that the federal government has so far only had to ask itself when dealing with China’s regime. (con)