(AFP) – Donald Trump said Saturday he would “love to see” a united Ireland, wading into a politically sensitive subject as he embarked on a two-day Irish visit that blurs the lines between his presidency and personal business interests. After meeting Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin in Dublin, Trump said reunification of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland — split for over a century — would be “a fantastic thing.” “It’s going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now,” he told reporters, adding “the UK will have something to say about it, obviously.”
The island of Ireland has been split between the Irish republic in the south and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, since 1921. Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland that killed about 3,000 people, a referendum can be held if the UK government determines a majority there is likely to favour joining the Republic of Ireland. Republic of Ireland voters would also have to endorse reunification in a poll for it to happen. The United States has previously adopted a neutral position on the issue.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham insisted last month that a unity referendum was “off the table,” drawing a sharp response from the pro-unity party Sinn Fein. Asked about Trump’s comments, a spokesperson for his Downing Street office referred reporters to comments Burnham made in parliament Wednesday when he vowed to “stick to the Good Friday Agreement 100 percent.” However, Gavin Robinson, leader of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, said on X that “as unionists we are not interested in the destruction of our country by joining with the Irish Republic.”
– Divergences –
Trump had touched down at Dublin airport shortly before 8:25 am (0725 GMT) under a security operation dubbed one of the largest ever mounted in Ireland and reportedly costing 20 million euros ($23 million). At least 4,000 police and other personnel, including snipers, have been mobilised. In Dublin, at least 2,000 protesters waving Palestinian flags and holding placards rallied Saturday lunchtime against the president’s visit, chanting “Donald Trump’s not welcome here,” AFP reporters saw. One sign read “no imperialists in Ireland,” while some held explicit inflatable balloons showing Trump in sex acts with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Trump is a warmonger,” student Cillian Whelan, 19, told AFP. “He has no right to be in my country. He should be on trial.” One small group of demonstrators — dressed in black and wearing masks and dark glasses — set a US flag on fire, according to The Irish Times. Smaller protests also occurred at Shannon Airport, where the US leader transited, and in Doonbeg on Ireland’s west coast, where the Trump Organization’s 2014-purchased course is hosting golf’s Irish Open tournament. Police said three women — aged in their 20s, 30s and 40s — had appeared in a western Irish court late Saturday after being arrested for separate trespass and public order offences there.
After completing engagements in Dublin, Trump made a dramatic landing in Doonbeg aboard Marine One and was soon photographed watching over the 18th green during the third round of the Open flanked by his sons Don Jr. and Eric. He was reportedly given a rapturous reception during a brief appearance in the resort’s members’ bar, with drinkers chanting “USA.”
– ‘Strong view’ –
Earlier in Dublin, Trump appeared to receive a frostier reception from left-wing President Catherine Connolly, an outspoken critic of the US leader. “I conveyed the strong view of the Irish people that the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted,” Connolly said in a post-meeting statement. He then met Martin, when the Iran war and US tariffs on EU pharmaceuticals and immigration were on the agenda.
Ireland and the United States have long been close allies, partly because of their common ancestral ties. But the Irish government’s politics diverge sharply from those of the Trump administration on many issues, with Ireland being one of Europe’s most pro-Palestinian countries. It is among several countries, including Spain, the UK, and France, that have announced a trade ban targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
In Doonbeg, some 40,000 fans are expected at the Open over the weekend. Trump may even award the trophy Sunday. The 80-year-old golf-mad president has promoted his family’s courses and other businesses unabashedly since returning to the White House for his second presidential stint in January 2025. Trinity College Dublin US history professor Daniel Gear told AFP that Trump “sees little difference between his private interests and his role as president.”
– Brendan Smialowski, with Peter Hutchison and Aurelia End in Dublin.
© 2024 AFP
