U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he would not be making his scheduled appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this month if the partial shutdown of the US government doesn't come to an end.
“I intended to go and speak in front of the world financial community in Davos. That’s still on, but if the shutdown continues ... I won’t go. I had planned to go, it’s been very successful when I went. We have a great story to tell,” Trump told reporters in the White House just before leaving on a trip to Texas.
The forum is scheduled for January 25th which gives the President only 15 days to pass a budget agreement. The partial shutdown has now been in effect for 20 days.
Trump’s attendance in Switzerland could provide him with the opportunity to discuss trade terms with other world powers, including Mexico, the country at the center of the US budget crisis.
Democrats have refused to allocate part of the budget toward the President’s signature campaign issue, a border wall along the US border with Mexico. On Wednesday, Trump walked out of a meeting with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, describing it as a “total waste of time.”