Government shutdown threatens Trump's trip to the World Economic Forum

Davos.
(Image credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump's trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is officially on hold due to the government shutdown, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told NBC News. Trump is not likely to be particularly missed at the conference, though, where the theme of the year is "Creating a Shared Future in Fractured World" and where Trump had planned to bring his "America First" message, The Associated Press reports.

"I find it quite sad he's coming to the WEF, but I imagine nothing can be done about it," said Buddhist monk and Dalai Lama disciple Matthieu Ricard ahead of Trump's decision to put his visit to the forum on hold. WEF founder Klaus Schwab had said earlier Monday that it would be "good to have the president here, if the snow conditions and the situation in Washington allow us."

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Depending how the week goes in Washington, Trump could potentially still make it to the conference, which runs Tuesday through Saturday. He is scheduled to speak at the forum Friday, although getting Trump to Switzerland gets "more and more logistically challenging every day," Marc Short, the White House legislative affairs director, told CNN.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.