Heritage Foundation president speaks to international leaders at Davos

Kevin Roberts never expected to receive or accept an invitation to speak at the World Economic Forum summit, he told reporters. But, on Thursday, he was in Davos, Switzerland, to participate in a roundtable discussion titled “What to Expect from a Possible Republican Administration.” Roberts described what he saw as a divide between ordinary Americans’ views and “elite” views on global issues such as climate change.

What are some of those differences of viewpoint? Roberts said many “elites” viewed climate change as a crisis, whereas many average Americans did not. He added that the southern border threatened ordinary Americans’ interests, whereas Western elites have hesitated to close the U.S. and European borders. He added that China constituted the most significant threat to democracies worldwide, while many “elites” view China as more benign and harmless.

What did he say afterward? At a virtual news conference attended by WORLD, Roberts predicted that former President Donald Trump would become the Republican presidential nominee for 2024. He criticized the World Economic Forum for giving a platform to Iran and China’s governments, calling it one of the “sins” of those at Davos. He also applauded a speech by Argentinian President Javier Milei. The recently elected libertarian opened his comments to the conference by warning attendees that Western leaders were threatening their own countries by being “co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism and thereby to poverty.”

Dig deeper: Read Jill Nelson’s report in WORLD Magazine about how some American conservatives want the United States to adopt more isolationist policies.