When Donald Trump travelled to the World Economic Forum at Davos two months ago, the global business leaders who met him there seemed relieved by the encounter, if not entirely reassured.

That was partly because their expectations had been so low. It was also because Mr Trump talked about deregulation and tax cuts. But a third — less noticed — factor was that the US president repeatedly stressed to the assembled chief executives that he had arrived with a team.

Mr Trump took more senior officials to Davos than any of his predecessors and the officials in this caravan — Gary Cohn, Dina Powell, Steven Mnuchin, Jared Kushner, Wilbur Ross, Elaine Chao, HR McMaster, Rex Tillerson and others — struck a credible pose. Or as the chief executive of one European company observed: “Trump’s tweets seem crazy. His team does not.”