(AFP) – Donald Trump lashed out Sunday at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over Kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil refineries, while on a golf-focused two-day visit to Ireland which again saw him promoting his personal business interests. The US president — talking to reporters from his Doonbeg golf resort on Ireland’s west coast — also hit out at recent critics of artificial intelligence (AI) who urge greater caution in the powerful technology’s development, branding them “negative” forces.
But the ever-unpredictable American leader saved his strongest comments for Zelensky, saying the Ukrainian president had to do “one thing” and “stop knocking out diesel fuel” refineries in Russia due to resulting shortages. “Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel,” Trump said, insisting the Russia-Ukraine war — not his conflict with Iran and subsequent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — were to blame. Oil prices have soared in recent weeks as attacks in the Middle East have intensified, raising American fuel costs and inflation and speculation the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates just weeks before crunch US midterm elections.
Trump’s visit to Ireland has seen the American leader again fusing his brand of off-the-cuff diplomacy with both his love of golf and private businesses. On Saturday, he caught his Irish hosts and the neighbouring UK off-guard when he waded into highly sensitive political territory by announcing he would “love to see” a united Ireland.
Breaking with Washington’s traditional neutrality on the historically charged topic, Trump argued reunification of the Republic of Ireland and UK territory Northern Ireland — after more than a century apart — was “going to happen eventually.” “It may as well happen now,” he said as he met Irish prime minister Micheal Martin in Dublin, prompting pushback from pro-UK loyalists in Northern Ireland and some leading politicians in mainland Britain. Trump doubled down on his remarks Sunday. “I’m someone who owns fantastic property here,” he said after watching Irish Open leader Shane Lowry tee off in the final round on the Trump Organization course bought in 2014. “It would seem to me that one of the naturals of all time is to put them together,” he added, insisting “many people agree.”
Trump arrived in Doonbeg Saturday afternoon, sparking road closures and police checkpoints nearby. Around 30 people protested his visit in neighbouring Doonbeg village Sunday. “Donald Trump is not welcome in Ireland,” demonstrator William Hederman, 53, told AFP, accusing him of helping Israel commit genocide in Gaza. Trump’s attendance at the tournament added an extra layer of complexity to a security effort that is reportedly costing Ireland 20 million euros ($23 million). He is expected to present the winner with the trophy later Sunday. Spectators cheered when he walked onto the first tee. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” 28-year-old Connor McGovern, who had travelled from Northern Ireland hoping to see the president, told AFP.
The former real estate magnate, who promotes his enterprises at every opportunity, was joined in the remote corner of Ireland by his two sons, Eric and Don Jr. They have managed the family business since their 80-year-old father returned to the White House last year. The course — set among dunes on the rugged County Clare coastline — has twice been targeted by pro-Palestinian activists in the past 18 months. 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. Around 4,000 Irish and US security personnel were involved in the weekend-long security operation, with anti-drone technology among the measures deployed.
The golf-mad president plays golf most weekends at one of his family’s US properties. He is scheduled to host December’s G20 summit at his Miami golfing resort. Opposition Democrats in the US have long complained that blurring the lines between his presidency and personal business interests is corrupt. The White House has aggressively pushed back against claims of conflicts of interest and that Trump has been using his presidency to enrich himself as his personal wealth has rocketed during his second term.
“Since the Civil War, we haven’t had a president with a significant financial conflict of interest from a business enterprise,” University of Minnesota Law School professor Richard Painter told AFP. The former White House ethics lawyer warned Trump’s conduct could send the message “that the way to curry a favour with the president is to patronise his properties, do business with his companies and so forth.”
– Peter Hutchison, with Aurelia End in Dublin
© 2024 AFP
