TRANSPORTATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao had a clear message Wednesday [1-24-18] for critics of President Donald Trump during his trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland: If you don’t want to hear from him, you can leave.
Speaking at a panel with other U.S. government officials during the World Economic Forum in Davos, the secretary praised the president for engaging with global leaders on economic policy by becoming the first sitting president in nearly two decades to attend the annual gathering of the world’s wealthy elite…
Pressed on whether the gathering — known to attract the so-called globalists derided by some factions of the Republican Party — aligned with the president’s populist economic rhetoric, Chao defended the summit as a unique opportunity for world leaders to gather and exchange ideas… Chao, speaking alongside House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, also brushed aside claims that Trump entering the White House has diminished the U.S. standing as a global leader…
The transportation secretary also addressed the importance of the United States’ diplomatic relationship with China. Borrowing the term ‘frenemy’ to characterize the dynamic, Chao said while there were ample opportunities for the two countries to cooperate, they remain competitors in many other regards… Trump is set to arrive in Davos Thursday morning local time. During the summit, he will meet with several political and economic leaders, including British Prime Minister Theresa May and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Friday he will give an address to the forum.”
-Cristiano Lima, “Chao rebuffs Trump critics in Davos: ‘Those who don’t want to listen to him can leave’,” Politico, Jan. 24, 2018 11:49am