WEF leaders pressed on how they will 'Trump-proof their economies' if he wins election

 Bloomberg Television host Francine Laqua asked World Economic Forum leaders on Friday how they would prepare for the real possibility of Donald Trump's re-election.

Lacqua hosted a panel on "The Global Economic Outlook" on the closing day of the Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Trump's return was viewed with concern.

She first turned to David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms, and asked, "David, many leaders expressed concern about Donald Trump in the White House." Is." The House means fragmentation, for foreign policy. Is there a way the rest of the world can Trump-proof their economies?"

"Ummm, if someone has a way to do this, I think they should patent it and maybe sell it to someone else," he began. "It would be very difficult to do."

Representatives from Europe also presented their views.

Lacqua then turned to Germany's Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner and asked how he thought "Europe should prepare."

"I think we are talking too much about Donald Trump in Europe and we should prepare ourselves for a possible second term of Donald Trump by boosting our European competitiveness," Lindner said. "Doing our homework is the best preparation we can for a potential second term of Donald Trump, and that includes our abilities to defend ourselves."

He argued that working to become "attractive partners at eye level" in terms of economics and NATO is the best way to ensure a good partnership with the United States, to the extent that it would not matter whether Biden Or Trump ultimately wins the presidency in 2024.

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, responded, "I think the best defense, if you want to look at it that way, is attack. And to attack properly, you need to be strong at home. .So being strong means having a strong deep market, a real single market."

He further argued for a transition towards becoming a "green economy" for the European economy, which will certainly depend on fossil fuels for some time, but less, as indicated at the last COP28. And moves toward renewables, where investment is desperately needed."