Interview · 22 Jan 2026
Questions at the World Economic Forum, Davos
Third-party transcript: Rev (transcription service). Retrieved 2 Oct 2026.
No BS Index for this transcript
Only 9 rated questions; a transcript needs 15 for a number. Claims that held up: 71% of 17 checked (Bluff 14.7 of 50). Its claims still count towards the overall score.
Answers questions · observed, not scored
83%
9 questions rated. Fewer than 15, so this does not enter the index. Answered = 1, Partly answered and Declined openly = ½, Dodged = 0.
Answered 6Partly answered 3Declined openly 0Dodged 0
Speaker 1
But I would say, this was not ... Just to be clear, this was a private enterprise endorsed by the State Department, but these are a lot of decisions are being made by private companies right now. This is a capital, this is probably the central global gathering of CEOs, and I guess I wonder if you can give me a review how you see these folks. And you know your way around this world. How you see those people behaving.
AnsweredAsked how he sees chief executives behaving towards the administration. The reply says many are complicit and 'selling out', then widens to the state of American democracy.Our model rated this
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Speaker 1
Should you, I mean, is that kind of discourse from you from them good for America?
AnsweredAsked whether the insults from both sides are good for America. The reply says no, it is unbecoming, and defends his posts as holding up a mirror.Our model rated this
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Speaker 1
It was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney the day before who talked about, I don't know, in large terms, the middle powers, everybody except for China and the US, really have to adapt permanently to a world without American leadership. I guess I wonder, I mean, that's in some sense a pretty anti-American point of view. That's a view that America is gone from the world stage, that whether the next president is JD Vance, Gavin Newsom, somebody else, this isn't a deviation, as he said, this is permanent. Do you buy that? Do you buy Carney's point of view?
Partly answeredAsked whether he agrees with Carney that the break in American leadership is permanent. The reply praises the speech and its courage and describes the damage to alliances, without saying whether the change is permanent; the follow-up in x13 asks again.Our model rated this
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Speaker 2
... a different American leader can bring...
AnsweredAsked again whether a different American leader could restore relationships. The reply says yes: the relationships are dormant, not dead.Our model rated this
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Speaker 2
I mean, I suppose do you think post-Trump there's a path back? Because you see this everywhere, the kind of insult politics that you're doing here, which you said you don't really enjoy, you kind of seem to.
Partly answeredAsked whether there is a path back from insult politics after Trump. The reply defends his new style as the only approach that breaks through, without addressing the path back; it continues after an aside (x17).Our model rated this
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Speaker 2
And I think one of the main reasons that he has been successful is because the Democratic Party is so discredited in the eyes of so many voters. I have a couple of questions about that. One is big picture about California. People... You are in the midst of a enormous economic boom right now, and yet the state is on one hand running deficits, and on the other not always delivering services, from education to healthcare that your citizens are delighted with. And I guess, I wonder how are voters looking at California, looking at New York, looking at Chicago, supposed to say, "Yeah, this is the model we want."
Partly answeredAsked how voters can see California's governance, with deficits and uneven services, as a model. The reply lists the state's companies, research and universities rather than its governance; the follow-up in x19 asks about governance directly.Our model rated this
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Speaker 2
California's wonderful, but what about the governance?
AnsweredAsked about governance. The reply points to the state's uninsured rate and its latest education report.Our model rated this
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Speaker 2
Do you reject the idea that these blue states are spending more for less results?
AnsweredAsked whether he rejects the idea that blue states spend more for worse results. The reply begins 'I don't know' and then rejects it with outcome measures and the state's net contribution to federal funds.Our model rated this
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Speaker 2
For instance, you're supporting the mayor of LA for reelection after these terrible fires that a lot of your citizens do feel was part in part because of government mismanagement. Do you just reject that narrative that the government has anything to do with these things?
AnsweredAsked whether he rejects the view that government mismanagement played a part in the Los Angeles fires. The reply accepts accountability and the need for reform in general but rejects the fire hydrant explanation.Our model rated this
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8 further exchange(s) not rated: procedural or ceremonial questions (a tribute, thanks or condolence that asks for nothing), or questions the speaker did not take.