There had been a lot of noise in the lead-up to President Donald Trump's address at the World Economic Forum, but inside the crowded auditorium, it was eerily silent for most of the hour-plus speech.
I was sitting among the 1,000 or so people in the Davos hall, some of whom were standing in packed aisles.
If Trump wanted a raucous applause for his laundry list of accomplishments that he sees as crowning achievements over his first year, he didn't get it.
People here, including many CEOs and heads of state, waited in long lines to get in, eager to see Trump in person. It was the hottest ticket at the annual gathering of the world's business and political elites. Trump and his advisors built up the speech over the past few days, giving it an air of mystery.
But the "special address" started out as very ordinary. It was like the hundreds Trump has given before, only without the applause he is more used to on home soil.
After all the talk about a hostile Europe showdown and taking it to the Davos elites, there were also no boos or dissent. The only noise from the audience here was muted, nervous laughter. Were they laughing with Trump or at him? It seemed to be more of the latter.
The biggest laughter came when Trump brought up French President Emmanuel Macron wearing aviator sunglasses at Davos a day earlier: "Those beautiful sunglasses. What the hell happened?"
The audience finally perked up when Trump turned to Greenland. The crowd seemed stunned, exchanging nervous looks, when Trump said he would start negotiations to acquire Greenland. Even though Trump has talked about Greenland before, it was surreal to be sitting in a room of European leaders talking about his plans to buy a country.
After Greenland, Trump abruptly pivoted to his greatest hits: "rigged elections" and the "crooked media." That left the crowd more confused. Some started looking at their phones.
Then he returned to Greenland, saying he did not need to use force and that his only demand was to get Greenland back, referring to the US taking over the island's defence during World War II. Cue more nervous laughter.
When Trump criticized the fiery Tuesday address of Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, he delivered perhaps his boldest line: That Canada only exists because of US defense.
"Oh wow," someone behind me blurted out.
A minute later, a few people started heading for the exits.
Later, when Trump started attacking the country we're in right now — Switzerland — more people streamed out. After Trump said a Swiss minister "rubbed me the wrong way," there were audible gasps.
The speech was scheduled to finish at 3:15 p.m. local time, but Trump went more than 30 minutes over, talking about domestic crime, Somali immigrants, and drug boats — not the usual Davos fare where most of the speeches are lofty visions of the future. More audience members left or looked at their phones.
Finally, Trump returned to his prepared remarks, which were more uplifting: "You can do things no one else can even think about."
"The United States is back, bigger and better than before," he said.
Trump then paused and said, "I'll see you around."
At last, there was applause, with about a third of the audience giving a standing ovation.
Davos 2026
Outside the auditorium, California Gov. Gavin Newsom had a scathing explanation for why the applause for his political opponent was muted.
"Why would you applaud someone that talks down to you and past you, who belittles you, who mocks you, who thinks you're weak and pathetic?" Newsom told reporters. "I was surprised there was as much applause as there was. Had there not been cellphones, I think a few people would have passed out from boredom."
Not everyone agreed. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump ally, told Business Insider that he thought the speech was a "home run" and that the biggest loser from it "might be Putin."
"Greenland's strategically important. We need the title, but not through force," he said on the sidelines of Davos. "We need to find a way to transfer title to the United States."
Davos attendee Amelia Winter told Business Insider that although Trump is "doing some good things," the way he "has no shame and is so arrogant is bizarre."
"People don't want to applaud somebody who treats his allies like this," she said.
