Trump, May cancel trips to Davos due to domestic political turmoil
chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2019-01-18 07:18
Trump has canceled his delegation's trip to WEF in Davos, while May will skip it to focus on Brexit
President Donald Trump has canceled his delegation's trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week due to the partial US government shutdown, according to a statement released by press secretary Sarah Sanders on Thursday.
Trump, who attended last year's Davos event, had planned to go again this year but pulled out last week as he grapples with Democrats in Congress over funding for a wall on the border with Mexico that has led to a partial shutdown of the government.
It was the latest development in Thursday's back-and-forth over whether lawmakers and Trump administration officials should travel during the partial government shutdown.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will not attend the annual World Economic Forum in Davos next week in order to concentrate on Brexit instead.
May has held "constructive" talks with lawmakers to help find a way to win the support of Parliament for a Brexit deal. She is expected to speak with other European Union leaders in the coming days, she said.
May had been expected to attend the gathering of world leaders and global power players in the Swiss ski resort. But her Downing Street office says she is "focused on matters here."
Britain's Brexit process is gridlocked, 10 weeks before the country is expected to leave the European Union on March 29.