President Donald Trump croaked his way through a bleak signing ceremony for the new peacekeeping body he has billed as the “most impressive and consequential board ever assembled.”
The scene was decidedly unimpressive.
The 79-year-old president riffed through an unusually short intro to the “Board of Peace” signing ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, attended by representatives from fewer than 20 countries, and none of America’s traditional Western European allies. The low turnout came as Trump has rankled traditional allies with his obsessive approach to seizing Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally.
The speech was surprisingly sober and low-energy. Trump, his right hand apparently slathered in a familiar dose of foundation to mask a recurring bruise, mostly stuck to the script, only deviating for ad-libbing on a couple of occasions. Photographs from the event also show a deep purple bruise on Trump’s left hand that came into focus at events towards the end of last year.
In one of those moments, he quipped, “I like, actually, this group. I like every single one of them. Can you believe it?” and added, “Usually I have two or three that I don’t like. I don’t find them up here.”
When others were speaking, Trump appeared visibly tired. On one occasion, as his son-in-law Jared Kusher spoke, Trump’s blinking looked intensely labored. Invited back to the stage for his closing remarks soon after, he had more freedom to go off-script.
This appeared to energize him slightly, as he reminded the crowd that he’s a “real estate person” and mused about the provenance of his “Board of Peace” and the conflict in Gaza.
“This is not going to be a waste of time,” he said of his new board, which critics fear is designed to rival the U.N. Security Council.
Trump’s visit to the economic summit started with a litany of issues. His dishevelled appearance and hoarse voice might be down to his packed schedule and a dodgy airplane. The aging president, who just days ago warned that he is now less inclined towards peace, attended a college football game Monday night, which saw him get home well past 2 a.m.
On Tuesday, he held a 104-minute White House press briefing before his lack of sleep was compounded by a technical issue on Air Force One.
On Tuesday night, it was forced to make an abrupt return to Washington, D.C., following an electrical issue on board. His second departure, just after midnight, is thought to have added a further three hours to his journey.
Trump still made it to Davos on time for a meandering speech where he pored over familiar points, attacked allies and generally rambled, on Wednesday afternoon.
When he arrived at Zurich airport on Wednesday morning, cameras at the airstrip captured the visibly tired 79-year-old disembarking before very slowly descending the stairs onto the tarmac.
His issues were compounded on Thursday morning, when he got a less-than-expected turnout for his Board of Peace signing ceremony. The nations represented were mostly Middle Eastern and South American nations.
He was snubbed by all major E.U. allies, including the U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, over concerns about the inclusion of Russian President Vladimir Putin. But even the Kremlin offered doubt. It acknowledged the invitation, but said it is “studying the details” to seek clarity of “all the nuances,” according to spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
This flies in the face of his opening comments and closing, where he claimed that “everybody” wants to be a part of his Board of Peace. The White House had claimed that up to 35 nations had committed to signing up to the Board. After the ceremony, Trump told reporters that the figure was closer to 50.
