Elite Swiss group planning ‘non-welcome committee’ for Trump
President Trump’s upcoming visit to a gathering of the elite in Switzerland has prompted a group to plan an “non-welcome committee” to say he is not welcome.
The White House confirmed this week that the commander-in-chief would attend the ritzy party around the World Economic Forum in Davos at the end of the month to “advance his America First agenda with world leaders.”
But the Swiss are setting their watches for his arrival, and Andreas Freimuller of the advocacy group Campax told the Daily News that he is preparing a “non-welcome committee” to greet him at the airport because “what he says and what he stands for isn’t something that we want to see.”
It is not clear how Trump will jibe with the annual event held amid the Swiss Alps, where CEOs, politicians and celebrities schmooze, attend talks and discuss broad topics of global development.
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Cate Blanchett, Elton John and Bollywood’s Shah Rukh Khan will be honored as “bridge-builders and role models for all leaders of society” at the event whose aim is creating a future in a “fractured world.”
Some have speculated that Trump may use the event to tout his isolationist views amid a sea of internationalists.
Freimuller, whose petition against the visit demands “World First, not America First!" said Trump’s attendance likely stems from the fact that “he really loves attention and Davos is a great place to get attention because there are other leaders.”
The campaigner added that he was inspired by virulent opposition in the United Kingdom from London Mayor Sadiq Khan and others that is believed to have delayed a long-planned visit by Trump to Britain and downgraded it from a trip that would include the Queen.
Trump’s visits across the pond have indeed netted enormous attention, including violent protests against him and other world leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, last summer.
Putin, who has attended Davos in the past, does not plan to head to the glitzy gathering this year, according to his spokesman.
Other leaders such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and France’s Emmanuel Macron are expected to speak at the forum, whose key participants will be announced next week.
