Denison Forum

Trump’s America First Message Sparks Debate at the World Economic Forum

On Thursday morning, President Donald Trump appeared via video conference in front of a packed crowd at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Trump’s statements leading up to his inauguration and in the days that followed were the talk of the conference despite the fact that he was unable to attend in person. So, when given the chance to hear from him directly, the audience of diplomats, human rights advocates, academics, and business leaders from around the globe were eager to see what he had to say.

Among the points most emphasized were:

The promise that companies who choose to make their products in America will pay among the lowest taxes of any nation on earth, while those who don’t should expect to pay a premium in tariffs. He made it clear that America’s allies would not necessarily be exempt from any such premiums.
His belief that “After four long years, the United States is strong and sovereign and a beautiful nation once again. It’s a strong, sovereign nation.” (His emphasis)
The need for the war in Ukraine to end and end quickly. Trump brought up Ukraine on several occasions and in a variety of contexts, but the thread that tied each mention together was his belief that the cost in human lives—which he claimed was much higher on both sides than has been reported—was too great to allow the conflict to continue any longer.
His belief that America was being taken advantage of by both its allies and other nations around the world; an imbalance that he promised to correct through tariffs and other means.

Much of Trump’s speech touched on familiar grounds to any who listened to his inaugural address or the interviews that followed (for more on the president’s executive orders and first days back in office, see this week’s episode of Culture Brief). Yet, the context at the World Economic Forum makes quite a difference in how those thoughts were received.

Is America Treated Unfairly?

Instead of speaking directly to the people he was elected to lead, as has been the case for most of this week, the majority of those in attendance at Davos stand outside of the president’s direct influence. As such, when he spoke as though America could do what it wants, with the implication that the rest of the world would have to either fall in line or deal with the consequences, it struck a nerve with some in attendance.

Agnes Callamard, secretary general for Amnesty International, spoke for many when she described Trump’s speech as conveying an “absolute determination to ‘make America great again’ at the expense of the rest of the world . . . It’s favoring American workers at the expense of workers everywhere . . . There’s nothing, nothing about the rest of the world.”

Of course, the implication behind Callamard’s critique is that Trump should be concerned about the rest of the world, and that belief highlights the disconnect between the president and many who view the world through a much different lens.

Trump is not president of every nation and he should be focused on America first. At the same time, every world leader should say the same about the countries they represent. Trump should not be surprised when his America First policies don’t find universal acceptance among the world leaders whose countries do not benefit from those policies.

That said, the stated goal of this year’s World Economic Forum is “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age,” so Trump’s message of America first was not quite in line with much of what the conference’s attendees had been hearing all week. However, collaboration is typically built upon the principle of a mutually beneficial relationship, and Trump clearly feels that America’s relationships with much of the world fail to meet that standard.

As the president reiterated Thursday, he believes that even the nation’s European allies “treat the United States very, very unfairly.”

The problem with that line of thinking is that “fair” can be a rather nebulous concept. And, while there are a number of lessons we can take from the president’s speech and the global response, that understanding of fairness is, perhaps, the most relevant to each of our lives today.

Witness or Justice?

Dennis Wholey once quipped, “Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack because you are a vegetarian.”

Yet, despite the recognition that fair treatment is not always an option in this life, there’s something in us that gets angry when we’re denied the treatment we think we deserve. It’s tempting to even see that lack of fairness as a mark against the goodness of God.

From Job to David and a host of other biblical characters, anger toward the Lord is a common response when people are treated in ways that don’t seem just. And that’s alright. We should be angry when sin and the realities of living in this fallen world inflict injustices upon ourselves or others. Such instances remind us that this world is not what God intended it to be and that those who inhabit it are in desperate need of his salvation.

But this issue gets really tricky when we recognize that there will be times when God not only warns us that the world will treat us unfairly but also calls us to volunteer for that fate.

In the Sermon on the Mount, for example, Christ’s call to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile is intended to teach us that there will be times when prioritizing what we deem to be fair treatment will come at the expense of helping others to know Jesus (Matthew 5:38–42). In such moments, preserving our witness needs to be our highest priority, even if it comes at the cost of being treated unfairly.

And if we need help understanding what such a sacrifice looks like, we need only turn our eyes to the sinless Son of God who died on the cross to pay a debt that was not his own. Now he calls us to follow his example.

Will You Be a “Little Christ?”

Ultimately, none of what we’ve discussed today means that Trump is inherently wrong for pursuing a more aggressive approach to America’s trade agreements. The governance of a country will not always mirror the calling or responsibility of individual Christians.

However, the moment we begin to treat Trump—or any other person for that matter—as our example of what it means to live a moral and Christ-centered life, we’ve strayed from the standard to which God holds each of us. After all, the definition of a Christian is quite literally a “little Christ,” and we are meant to live out that identity every day.

So, whose example will you follow today? And how will you react the next time this world or the fallen people in it decide to treat you in a manner you don’t deem fair?

Scripture is clear as to what our answers to those questions should be.

Will you listen?

Quote of the Day:

“The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.” —C.S. Lewis

Ryan Denison, PhD, is the Senior Editor for Theology at Denison Forum. Ryan writes The Daily Article every Friday and contributes writing and research to many of the ministry’s productions. He holds a PhD in church history from BH Carroll Theological Institute after having earned his MDiv at Truett Seminary. He’s authored The Path to Purpose, What Are My Spiritual Gifts?, How to Bless God by Blessing Others, 7 Deadly Sins, and has contributed writing or research to every Denison Forum book.

The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.

For more from the Denison Forum, please visit www.denisonforum.org.