Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, right, responds to a comment from Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt during a World Economic Forum Panel. (Screenshot via World Economic Forum livestream)
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear unabashedly showed how his style of governance differs from Republican President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum Wednesday.
The forum annually held in Davos, Switzerland, brings together world leaders and corporate CEOs to talk about the global economy. Trump spoke to the conference after Beshear’s appearances Wednesday morning, and in it ruled out using force for the U.S. to gain control of Greenland from Denmark.
In a conversation with fellow Democrat, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, Beshear was critical of the president’s governance, including his recent threat of military action to quell protests in Minnesota following a federal agent killing a woman and the insistence of U.S. control of Greenland.
“This Greenland play by the president is dumb as hell,” Beshear said. He added that the policy proposal “is so damaging, so concerning, and this is not who we are” and was unfavorable with Americans.
Beshear was also part of a discussion on closing manufacturing gaps in the U.S. and globally through education on Wednesday. He is also scheduled to discuss the middle class’ lack of growth since the pandemic in a Thursday panel.
Seen as a possible candidate for the 2028 presidential election, the appearance at the forum gave Beshear a chance to highlight his knowledge on international policy in front of a global crowd.
Following Trump’s speech to the forum, Beshear posted on BlueSky that the president’s remarks were “dangerous, disrespectful and unhinged.”
“From insulting our allies to telling struggling Americans that he’s fixed inflation and the economy is amazing, the President is hurting both our families’ financial security and our national security,” Beshear wrote. “Oh, and Greenland is so important he’s calling it Iceland.”
In response to a comment from Stitt defending Trump’s America first policies when it comes to bringing jobs back to the U.S. and Whitmer saying “it’s going to take us a long time to recover from” the president’s first year back in office, Beshear said: “An American first president wouldn’t be saying, we’re going to make Venezuelans rich. We’re going to pay people in Greenland $100,000 while our people struggle to pay their bills.”
Beshear also lauded lawsuits he joined that successfully brought federal funding back to Kentucky after the Trump administration revoked it. The lawsuits have been led by Democratic attorneys general, but some Democratic governors in states with Republican attorneys general, like Beshear, have joined them throughout the past year.
“Yes, he tries, because he’s willing to be that bully on the playground, but we push back, we stand up, and we’re winning,” Beshear said.
The panel’s moderator, Richard Quest of CNN, introduced Beshear by saying ChatGPT had called the Kentucky governor “the future hope” and “the next leader” when asked for background information about Beshear.
Nevertheless, Beshear also took the opportunity to highlight the Bluegrass State on an international stage. He touted Kentucky’s economic strengths, such as logistics as the state can reach many Americans within a night’s drive and has two of the largest cargo airports in the world.
Back in Kentucky
Beshear’s international travel in recent months, including attending last year’s World Economic Forum, has been criticized by Kentucky Republicans.
Earlier this week, the Republican Party of Kentucky issued a statement saying Beshear was “once again off rubbing elbows with global elites in Switzerland.”
“The Governor loves to lecture everyone else about bipartisanship, transparency, and focusing on the ‘real issues,’ but when it’s time to lead, he disappears,” RPK Communications Director Adam Hope said. “Kentuckians deserve a governor who shows up and does his job.”
The GOP-controlled General Assembly began the 2026 legislative session this month. Among bills filed so far, Rep. T.J. Roberts introduced House Bill 86, which would require Kentucky governors to request tax dollars for international travel from the state treasurer, who is currently Republican Mark Metcalf. Roberts filed similar legislation last year.
Roberts told the Lantern Wednesday morning that he wants to “make clear” to Beshear and those who follow him in office that they “have to be good stewards of tax dollars” and should make a case for international travel to someone who is not appointed to them. The process now requires the governor’s office to submit requests to the Cabinet for Economic Development.
When asked if he sees the value of elected officials in general traveling internationally for economic development, Roberts said that should be reviewed on a “case by case basis.” He added that in his view, it would be more beneficial for businesses considering investing in the state to travel to Kentucky instead and “get a feel for our culture” and the people they would be investing in.
“I just think that there’s an appearance of impropriety whenever the governor’s going on trips that cost more than the average Kentuckian makes in a year right along the time where it’s abundantly obvious that he’s going to run for president, and when you look at what the World Economic Forum has become, it’s clearly a political institution,” Roberts said.
The Lantern filed an open records request with the governor’s office for receipts of international travel for Beshear and his staff in 2025. According to records provided, the office spent $125,700 on travel for the governor, First Lady Britainy Beshear and staff across three trips abroad.
The cost of attending last year’s forum was $44,400, which followed a $36,450 trip to Madrid, Spain, to meet representatives of Acerinox, the parent company of North American Stainless Steel, which is in Carroll County.
In October, Beshear and his entourage traveled to the United Kingdom, France and Ireland, which cost $44,850. A press release from his office ahead of the trip said the governor and other members of his administration would meet with business and trade officials to discuss future opportunities for growth in the state. Airline ticket confirmations for that trip showed Beshear and those with him flew premium economy on British Airways.
Asked about the criticism, Beshear spokesperson Scottie Ellis defended the governor’s travel, saying international trips have “helped secure some of Kentucky’s most significant economic development investments in our history.” Late Democratic Gov. Martha Layne Collins’ trip to Japan led to automaker Toyota building a Georgetown plant in 1986, which is now the company’s largest vehicle manufacturing plant in the world.
Ellis said “strong international partnerships have played a significant role” in the economic successes Kentucky has seen under the Beshear administration.
“Every Kentucky governor has traveled internationally for economic development trips, as has almost every constitutional officer and members of the General Assembly,” Ellis continued. “Targeting only Gov. Beshear shows the political motivation behind this bill, which would make Kentucky less competitive and risk our current economic success and job creation. In a recent international trip, a company said it would have moved to a different state but for the visit.”
“The Kentuckians who still have those jobs today certainly support international travel,” she said.”
Ellis added that the governor’s children only traveled on the October trip last year, and the Beshears paid for their travel personally.
A recent press release from the governor’s office said that while traveling to Switzerland, Beshear will also discuss other economic opportunities in Finland and Sweden this week.
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