Gavin Newsom, Erika Kirk, Dario Amodei, Scott Bessent and other leaders from across the worlds of business and politics discussed tariffs, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and how President Trump is reshaping global trade and the economy.

At last year’s summit, tensions ran high ahead of Mr. Trump’s return to the White House. But a year later, some speakers on Wednesday defended many of the president’s recent policies.

Then there is Mr. Newsom. The governor of California, who has positioned himself as a foil to Mr. Trump and a potential presidential candidate himself in 2028, said the president acted like a “man child” and had pushed America back to “pre-1960s.”

The annual summit, hosted by Andrew Ross Sorkin, founder of DealBook, has taken place since 2011.

Here are five main themes that emerged.

The tariff debate rages on.

Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, said he was “very optimistic about the economy,” despite stubbornly high prices and signs of strain in the labor market. His solution to the affordability crunch: move to states led by Republicans where, he said, inflation was not as damaging. (Recent data mostly contradict that assertion.)

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