How Fear, Money And Power Shape Donald Trump’s Decisions | Fareed Zakaria

At the BT Davos 2026 dialogue, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria speaks to Rajdeep Sardesai on Donald Trump’s worldview, arguing that there is no grand strategy behind America’s recent foreign policy moves — only impulses, emotions and personal interests. From Venezuela and Greenland to Iran and the Gulf states, Zakaria explains why each decision must be seen in isolation rather than as part of a coherent doctrine. He also delivers a stark warning on how Trump has reinserted the presidency into the US economy, openly picking winners and losers and instilling fear across American business. Drawing parallels with India’s licence-permit era, Zakaria says corporate America’s silence reflects anxiety, not consent — and that the global order is adjusting to a presidency driven less by values and more by raw power.

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