(CNN) The idea of Donald Trump, the man who ran and governed on the idea that we need to think of "America first," speaking before the World Economic Forum in Davos, the hub of globalist thinking, had lots and lots of people expecting major fireworks.

Instead they got a fizzle. And that's a win for the president and his advisers.

The speech that Trump gave Friday afternoon in Switzerland (it was just after 8 am on the east coast) was -- dare I say it -- incredibly traditional and even somewhat mundane. Trump spent 15 minutes touting the benefits of investing in America and regaling attendees with evidence that the US economy was roaring to life.

"The world is witnessing the resurgence of a strong and prosperous America," Trump said at one point of his speech. "I'm here to deliver a simple message: There has never been a better time to hire, to build, to invest, and to grow in the United States. America is open for business, and we are competitive once again."

That's a line that you can imagine almost any past US president delivering in front of an audience like Davos. And that, in and of itself, is remarkable -- given that Trump has so rarely acted in ways over his first year in office that echo the conduct or rhetoric of his predecessors.

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