‘Like a rock concert’: Laughter, gasps and walkouts as Donald Trump addresses Davos elites

US President Donald Trump gestures as he delivers a special address during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

Hundreds of global elites queued for hours to hear President Trump speak at Davos, with many relegated to overflow rooms. His speech drew laughs and gasps, especially over Greenland, sparking debate and concern about US-Europe tensions at the World Economic Forum.

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It looked like a rock concert: hundreds of the world's rich and powerful stood in a massive line for a precious seat to hear US President Donald Trump deliver his speech in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

After a two-hour wait, the doors to the World Economic Forum's congress hall closed to the disappointment of many who had to scramble for spots in four overflow rooms to watch him on television screens.

The exclusive crowd included executives of top companies, academics and politicians -- even the president of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, was stuck in line at one point before an aide guided him elsewhere.

"It's like a rock festival," one attendee said. Another watched Trump's helicopter landing in the mountain retreat on her phone.

Some voiced concern about the escalating tensions between Trump and Europe over this bid to seize Greenland, an issue that has overshadowed the annual schmoozefest's agenda.

"I expect the worst. From what we know from Trump, he always needs to have all the attention and he needs to have a shocker message," Julia Binder, of IMD Business School, told AFP.

And shock he did.

In one overflow room, attendees laughed and gasped throughout his speech.

Guffaws when Trump talked about wind farms killing birds. Nervous laughs when he said he was asking for "a piece of ice", meaning Greenland.

Others gasped "oh no" when he said: "Canada lives because of the United States."

Another said: "Oh my goodness!" when Trump recalled that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte once referred to him as "daddy".

And more laughs when he mocked French President Emmanuel Macron for wearing sunglasses -- due to a burst blood vessel -- during his own speech on Tuesday.

"I would say he's gone from neocon to neo-imperial," one attendee whispered in another room.

An hour into Trump's rambling speech, some people started to leave from overflow rooms.

'Piece of rock'

Some said Davos was a place to listen to different voices.

"Davos is a platform for and exchange of ideas, of views. So we are here to listen to all views, whether we like them or not," said Daniel Marokane, chief executive of a South African power company.

It was Trump's first in-person visit to Davos since 2018. Last year, he addressed the Davos crowd via a livestream, warning that he would impose tariffs on their companies if they did not move production to the United States.

Greenland has replaced tariffs as the topic of the week.

"What I can't understand is why are we fighting over a piece of rock covered with ice," Ken Griffin, the billionaire head of the Citadel pension fund, said at a panel hours before Trump's arrival.

"The United States has access to military bases in Greenland," he said. "We don't need Greenland."