For three hours on Thursday morning, Donald Trump was the elephant in the room at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, as speakers danced around any direct discussion of how he would shake up the global economic, political and business landscape.

Then Andres Velasco – the Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics – took the stage at the event, which brings together some of the biggest names in politics and business in Lima, Peru. His words warned of a bleak future as the US president prepares to return to the White House.