Although President Donald Trump has cancelled the US delegation’s trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland due to the ongoing partial government shutdown, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo still got the chance to address business elites by video.

Axar.az reports citing Sputnik.

Delivering a long-distance speech to the World Economic Forum in the Swiss city of Davos, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has defended what he called a “positive disruption” in international politics:

“New winds are blowing across the world. The central question is this: Do they signal fair weather or foreshadow a storm. Is this pattern of disruption a force for good or not? I’d argue that this disruption is a positive development. Truths like this: Nations matter. No international body can stand up for a people as well as their own leaders can. Strong borders are key to strong nations”.

Pompeo cited Donald Trump’s election, the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, as well as the rise of the Five Star Movement in Italy and the election of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro as evidence that democracies were taking back control.