The failures of the global power elites led to the rise of Donald Trump. This year at Davos, Trump didn't let them forget it.

President Donald Trump answers questions from members of the media after the Board of Peace Charter Announcement and Signing ceremony during the World Economic Forum, Thursday, January 22, 2026, at the Davos Congress Center in Davos, Switzerland. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

This year's meeting of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world had one clear, standout winner: Donald Trump. Anyone who says otherwise is deluded, dreaming, or trying to manipulate media coverage.

They may not like him; they may not respect him. They may enjoy a much cozier relationship from major media outlets than Donald Trump, but Davos elites can't deny that their myriad failures led directly to his first rise to power in the U.S.

And even more directly to his second election as President of the Untied States.

This week at Davos, Donald Trump reminded them.

And while plenty of Trump's political opponents criticize his confrontational style, some of his most prominent critics agree with him.

"I think it's alright, I think it's ok to point out, I would be more polite about it, about the weaknesses of Europe, what they need to do," admitted JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon during a Davos panel interview.

"This week in Davos has been about many things: AI, geopolitics and markets. But President Donald Trump has been firmly at the front of everyone’s mind," Spriha Srivastava was forced to report for CNBC. "His much-anticipated address at the World Economic Forum drew thousands, with attendees queuing for hours to get into the Congress Hall."

Everyone, from CNBC reporters to billionaire CEOs, had to wait in line to hear Trump speak.

"Trump was met with loud applause as he took the stage for what many billed as the most closely watched speech of this year’s Davos," admitted Srivastava for CNBC.

Political analyst Niall Ferguson explained "How Trump Won Davos" in an excellent piece for the Free Press today.

"I have never before seen a single individual so completely dominate this vast bazaar of the powerful, the wealthy, the famous, and the self-important," Furguson marvelled.

"Here at Davos, I’ve heard numerous versions of this sentiment: 'We Europeans/Canadians stood up to Trump and forced him to retreat. This is a major victory for the rules-based international order,'" Ferguson wrote, too polite to add a "Ha!" to the end of that sentence.

"This is a very wrong take," Ferguson noted gently. "The reality is that Trump won Davos, hands down. And not only did he win it; he owned it."

"The fact that Trump carries out only around half the threats he makes on social media is a feature, not a bug—and it’s certainly not a sign of weakness," Ferguson pointed out. "It is a deliberate tactic designed to leave counterparties uncertain. On this occasion, Trump was bluffing, and the administration never had the remotest intention of imposing new tariffs on Europe, much less taking military action to annex Greenland."

"The reason Trump forced Greenland to be the No. 1 topic at Davos, I suspect, was to keep European leaders from meddling in America’s Middle Eastern and Eastern European policy," Ferguson wrote in a tone of grudging admiration. "It was notable on Wednesday how little the president said about Iran and Ukraine. That is because his administration has plans afoot for both countries."

Trump had other messengers at the party. But the message was the same.

"Globalization has failed the West and the United States of America," U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explained to the press. "It’s a failed policy. It is what the WEF has stood for, which is export offshore, far-shore, find the cheapest labor in the world and the world is a better place for it."

"The fact is, it has left America behind," Mr. Lutnick said. "It has left the American worker behind. And what we are here to say is that America First is a different model—one that we encourage other countries to consider—which is that our workers come first. We can have policies that impact our workers."

"Sovereignty is your borders. You’re entitled to have borders," Lutnick continued. "You shouldn’t offshore your medicine. You shouldn’t offshore your semiconductors. You shouldn’t offshore your entire industrial base and have it be hollowed out beneath you.You should not be dependent for that which is fundamental to your sovereignty on any other nation. And if you’re going to be dependent on someone, it darn well better be your best allies."

It seems obvious. But it certainly isn't.

Europe's dependence on cheap Russian energy is what has allowed the war in Ukraine to drag on and on. Had EU nations been able to properly sanction Russia, Putin would never have dared invade Ukraine in the first place.

Having EU nations over a barrel of Russian oil is Putin's best leverage against the West.

Yet European nations are still on the same path to ruination: Outsourcing vital industries to nations like Russia and China.

"Why would Europe agree to be net zero in 2030 when they don’t make a battery?" Lutnick wondered. "They don’t make a battery.
So if they go 2030, they are deciding to be subservient to China, who makes the batteries. Why would you do that?"

"Why would the United States of America, which has oil and natural gas, try to convert to all electricity?" Lutnick added. "China does not have oil and natural gas. Electricity and electric cars make perfect sense to them. That is practical and logical."

The globalist elites of Davos have been neither practical or logical.

"Can I bring you back to Greenland?" Lutnick was asked.

"No. It’s unnecessary," replied Lutnick. "The Western Hemisphere is vital for the United States of America. Our national security people are on it, and they care about it. And I’m going to leave it to them to address with our allies, with our friends, and with everyone how they work it out. But the Western Hemisphere matters to the United States of America. And the United States of America, as I’ve just articulated, really, really matters to the world."

"When America shines, the world shines, because they all need to make sure America is strong and powerful to take care of them, God forbid," Lutnick pointed out. "And so I think America and the Western Hemisphere are vital to America."

The rise of Trump-style populism didn’t come out of nowhere.

It came out of the wreckage of a globalization model that treated working communities like expendable inventory. The system didn’t just “shift jobs”—it shifted leverage, hollowed out industrial towns, and then acted surprised when people revolted.

Europe’s pre-Ukraine war dependence on Russian energy is the clearest example of how moral shortcuts become strategic liabilities: before 2022, the EU imported roughly 45% of its gas from Russia. And while ordinary citizens absorbed the instability, the wealthiest soared.

By Oxfam’s latest estimates, billionaire wealth is now at a historic peak—up roughly 80% since 2020.

It's easy to understand why the world's wealthiest people are opposed to Donald Trump. It isn't easy to understand why the adherents to globalization haven't admitted their failures and changed course.

Until they do, Donald Trump is going to keep leading them by the nose.

(Contributing writer, Brooke Bell)