Violent Anti‑Trump Protests Erupt in Swiss Cities Ahead of Davos Visit

In the days before President Donald Trump’s scheduled arrival at the World Economic Forum in Davos, violent protests broke out in multiple Swiss cities, with demonstrators burning American flags and clashing with riot police. Around 300 protesters marched in Davos on Jan. 19, accusing Swiss authorities of legitimizing what they called authoritarian and plutocratic politics by hosting Trump, while thousands rallied in Zurich and smaller groups demonstrated in Bern. Swiss police in full riot gear used water cannons, chemical irritants and rubber bullets after some masked protesters smashed shop windows and threw paint bags, fireworks and stones, with two officers reportedly struck but uninjured and the full extent of property damage still unknown. The unrest comes amid heightened tensions with European leaders over Trump’s renewed push to acquire Greenland, including his refusal to rule out military options, and as activists project anti‑Trump imagery onto ski slopes near Davos branding him the 'Spirit of plutocracy.' Trump, in a fresh social‑media post, called Greenland 'imperative for National and World Security' and insisted 'there can be no going back,' signaling he intends to keep the territorial dispute and his broader nationalist agenda front and center at Davos.