US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick was heckled at a World Economic Forum dinner in Davos hosted by BlackRock’s Larry Fink, The Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The invitation-only gathering on Tuesday night witnessed uproar after combative remarks from Lutnick, The Financial Times said, with widespread jeering, prompting some guests to walk out amid appeals for calm from Fink, head of the world’s largest asset manager and interim co-chair of WEF.
ECB President exited amid Europe criticism by Lutnick
Those who walked out of the dinner included ECB President Christine Lagarde.
The European Central Bank president exited amid heavy criticism levelled at Europe by Lutnick that drew heckling at the dinner on Tuesday night, Reuters said quoting an unnamed official who was briefed on what happened.
Earlier in the day, Lutnick had written an op-ed for the FT in which he said that the Trump delegation was “not going to Davos to uphold the status quo” but to “confront it head on.”
“We are here at Davos to make one thing crystal clear: With President Trump, capitalism has a new sheriff in town,” he wrote.
The US and EU relations have plummeted to a new low ebb after the US president threatened to impose new tariffs on certain European countries after they voiced concerns over his plans to “acquire” Greenland.
The MAGA supremo doubled down on his demand for acquiring Greenland as he headed to the annual, sowing panic and discord in Europe, bringing the 76-year old Atlantic alliance close to collapse and leading some European leaders to characterise the United States as the new enemy ahead of Russia and China.
“As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for national and world security. There can be no going back – — On that, everyone agrees! ” Trump posted on social media on Tuesday ahead of his trip to Davos, revealing that he had a “very good phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of Nato, concerning Greenland, and had agreed to a meeting of the various parties to discuss the matter.
ECB, The US Commerce Department and the World Economic Forum decline to comment
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is co-chairman of the WEF for all of the major members of the forum along with heads of state and other dignitaries, news agency Reuters reported.
A couple of hundred people were invited to the dinner.
Fink ended the dinner before dessert after the heckling incident as people were walking out, one of the sources said.
The ECB declined to comment on the report. The U.S. Commerce Department and the World Economic Forum did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
US President Donald Trump’s demand to take over Greenland has been met with fierce, emotional opposition from European leaders. He is expected to address the annual gathering of the global elite in the Swiss resort town of Davos on Wednesday.