Trump calls impeachment trial a long-running 'hoax' at Davos - NBC News

DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump called the impeachment trial set to start in Washington later on Tuesday a long-running "hoax" shortly before touting his economic achievements in a speech to some of the world's richest and most influential people at the mountainside gathering here.

"It's a witch hunt that's been going on for years and it's frankly, it's disgraceful," the president told reporters as he heading into the gathering.

Trump used the moment on the world stage to divert attention from the drama playing out back home and give the appearance of a president hard at work. It’s a strategy used by former President Bill Clinton, who scheduled events across the country during his impeachment though didn’t travel abroad.

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Jan. 20, 202002:06

In Trump's remarks to the packed conference hall of business executives, financiers and foreign dignitaries, he rattled off a long list of economic metrics that show improvements in the U.S. economy — attributing them to his tax cuts, new trade deals and rollbacks in regulations. In the mostly scripted remarks Trump sounded at times like a salesman pitching the U.S. to companies as a place to invest.

"I knew that if we unleashed the potential of our people, if we cut taxes, slashed regulations — and we did that at a level that’s never been done before in the history of our country in a short period of time — fixed broken trade deals and fully tapped America energy, that prosperity would come thundering back at a record speed," Trump told the crowd. "And that is exactly what we did and that is what happened."

Trump received a mostly warm welcome from the audience, many of whom have benefited from the surge in the stock market under his term as well as his corporate tax cuts. Despite Trump's populist, anti-globalist rhetoric that helped get him elected, Trump has sought to bolster his relationship with Wall Street and the business community, often inviting executives to the White House and touting how his administration has enriched them.

Trump has meetings throughout the day with business executives, the prime minister of Pakistan, president of the European Commission, and president of the Swiss Confederation. He is expected to travel back to Washington on Wednesday. Those meetings could also give Trump the opportunity to take questions from reporters during photo ops.

But back in Washington the domestic drama continues.Senate will resume its impeachment trial Tuesday afternoon where a number of procedural items are expected to be raised. Arguments by Democrats will begin Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET when Trump is scheduled to be traveling back from Davos.

The economy will be key to Trump's re-election and his remarks here were catered almost as much to a domestic audience as a global one.

"We are determined to ensure the working and middle class reap the largest gains," Trump said.

Trump signed the first phase of a hard-hard-fought trade deal last week with China, capping a bitter 18-month battle between the world's two largest economies that has roiled markets and slowed economic growth worldwide. The U.S. unemployment rate held steady at 3.5 percent in December, the lowest level in 50 years, but the months payroll and wage growth missed expectation.