Introduction to Trump’s Speech
Much of the global reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum has focused on his plans for Greenland amid threats to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory — but several other notable moments may have been overlooked. The speech lasted more than an hour and touched on tariffs, the U.S. central bank, and prescription drug prices, among other topics. There was also a reference to new “weapons of warfare,” with few other details.
Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve
Trump said he plans to announce a new chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve shortly. This comes after the U.S. Department of Justice sent the central bank several subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment, and after current Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said in a video statement he felt the DOJ was being weaponized by the Trump administration to gain influence over the Fed and the future of interest rates in the U.S. Central banks like the U.S. Fed and the Bank of Canada have a mandate to keep economies stable by adjusting interest rates to maintain price stability while also encouraging growth. They reach these decisions independently, based on expert analysis and data, while strongly opposing outside influence from government leaders and agendas.
Trump stated, “I’ll be announcing a new Fed chairman in the not-too-distant future. I think he’ll do a very good job. See, I gave away some of it — he. I did give that away.” He continued, “So we have something. You get something. But somebody that’s very respected, they’re all respected. They’re all great. Everyone that I interviewed is great. Everyone could do, I think a fantastic job. Problem is they change once they get the job, they do.” Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with the current chairman, Jerome Powell, saying, “It’s amazing how people change once they have the job. It’s too bad. It’s sort of disloyalty. But they’ve got to do what they think is right. We have a terrible chairman right now, Jerome ‘Too late’ Powell. He’s always too late. And, he’s very late with interest rates, except before the election. He was just fine for the other side,”
The Future of Drug Prices
In his speech, Trump claimed that prescription drug prices were going to come down worldwide, then said he used tariffs to pressure French President Emmanuel Macron to raise some prices in France. This comes after the White House announced that nine major pharmaceutical companies would slash the prices of medicines for the government’s Medicaid program and for cash payers in Trump’s latest bid to align U.S. costs with those in other wealthy nations. Trump’s “most favoured nation policy” aims to bring down some prescription drug prices in the U.S. to levels comparable to those in other nations, which may pay less for the same products.
Trump said, “Drug prices are going to be coming down tremendously in all the nations, and I appreciate them doing it. But they did it. In all fairness, without tariffs, I wouldn’t have been able to get it done.” He continued, “Under my most favoured nation policy for drug prices, the cost of prescription drugs is coming down by up to 90 per cent, depending on the way you calculate.” Trump also mentioned his conversation with Emmanuel Macron, saying, “I said, ‘Emmanuel, you’re going to have to lift the price of that pill to $20, maybe $30.’ Think of that. That means it’s a doubling. A doubling of prescription drugs might be a tripling, might be a quadrupling. It’s not easy,”
New Weapons of Warfare
At one point in his speech, Trump referred to new U.S. “weapons of warfare,” without getting into specifics. He said, “So now our country and the world face much greater risks than it did ever before. Because of missiles, because of nuclear, because of weapons of warfare that I can’t even talk about.” Trump also mentioned an instance where these “weapons” were used, saying, “Two weeks ago, they saw weapons that nobody ever heard of. They weren’t able to fire one shot at us. They said what happened? Everything was discombobulated.” However, it isn’t clear what instance Trump was referring to, and the timeline of “two weeks ago” is close to the timing of the U.S. strikes on Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum covered a range of topics, including his plans for the Federal Reserve, prescription drug prices, and new weapons of warfare. While some of his statements were unclear or lacked specifics, they highlighted the ongoing issues and challenges faced by the U.S. and the global community. As the world continues to navigate these complex issues, it remains to be seen how Trump’s policies and actions will shape the future of the global economy and international relations.
