{"id":275,"date":"2026-09-12T19:05:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T19:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/?p=275"},"modified":"2026-09-12T19:05:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T19:05:57","slug":"trump-says-irish-unification-would-be-fantastic-wading-into-sensitive-topic-during-weekend-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/?p=275","title":{"rendered":"Trump says Irish unification would be \u2018fantastic,\u2019 wading into sensitive topic during weekend visit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dublin\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/strong>President Donald Trump said Saturday that Irish reunification \u201cwould be a fantastic thing\u201d during a bilateral meeting with Ireland\u2019s taoiseach, Miche\u00e1l Martin, something he projected is \u201cgoing to happen eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a reporter asked his view on the topic, Trump at first acknowledged his comments could inflame a politically sensitive issue before voicing support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I don\u2019t want to cause any trouble,\u201d Trump said Saturday. \u201cBut I will tell you, I\u2019d love to see it unified.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reunification of Ireland has long been considered a contentious issue, dividing opinion among the Unionists, typically from Protestant backgrounds, who would like Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom and Republicans, typically from Catholic backgrounds, who would like to see it reunited with the Republic of Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For nearly 30 years, Northern Ireland was plagued by significant sectarian violence and disorder, in a period known as the Troubles. Under the US-brokered 1997 \u201cGood Friday\u201d agreement, which brought peace to the province, a majority of voters in border polls held both in the north and south would need to be in favor of reunification for this to take place. Wary of such sensitivities, US presidents have typically avoided explicitly commenting on the issue, even President Joe Biden, who frequently referenced his Irish heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s comments were almost immediately met with pushback from the UK government and unionists. Downing Street pointed CNN to newly installed Prime Minister Andy Burnham\u2019s comments in August when he downplayed the prospect of an imminent border poll in Northern Ireland. That is \u201coff the table,\u201d he said, later confirming he would \u201c100%\u201d follow the Good Friday Agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gavin Robinson, who leads the Democratic Unionist Party, said that Northern Ireland\u2019s future \u201cwill be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Trump seemed confident the move would happen eventually and questioned how it could be a negative thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to happen eventually. \u2026 I think it will happen now. You\u2019ve got the right man over here to get it moving,\u201d Trump said, pointing at Martin. \u201cBut yeah, I think it would be a fantastic thing. Now the UK will have something to say about obviously, but I think it would be a great thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump touched down in Ireland on Saturday morning to hold talks with the country\u2019s leaders before attending a tournament at one of his golf courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s son Donald Trump Jr. and his wife, Bettina, disembarked from the plane afterward and also greeted officials on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the visit, President Trump heard an Irish band play the American national anthem, immediately followed by the Irish anthem, while Irish President Catherine Connolly stood by. Trump briefly answered a couple of questions after the courtesy call with Connolly, including one concerning traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb strait.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything will work out just fine. It\u2019s all going to work out fine,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This visit takes Trump out the US at a crucial time for him politically, just weeks before the midterms and as the Iran-backed Houthis\u2019 rapid advance in Yemen threatens to open a second front in the war with Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"US<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During his time in Ireland, Trump will largely be shielded from the public and kept away from expected protests. Instead, he <\/strong>was ferried by motorcade straight to three official government residences in Phoenix Park, a huge urban park in central Dublin, which officials have closed since Friday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There, he held a bilateral meeting with the taoiseach and delivered remarks to business leaders at US Ambassador to Ireland Edward Walsh\u2019s residence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president\u2019s meetings with Irish political leaders will touch on bilateral economic cooperation, creating business opportunities for US industry, and discussing international issues of mutual interest, a White House official told CNN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"US<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Protests of Trump\u2019s visit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s visit presents a tricky balancing act for the Irish government. On the one hand, US companies, many of whom have their European headquarters in Ireland, are hugely important for the country\u2019s economy. On the other, Trump remains unpopular with much of the Irish public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of people joined an anti-Trump march through central Dublin on Saturday afternoon, several of them waving Palestinian flags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want him here,\u201d Eudie Moriarty from County Clare told CNN. \u201cWe respect the president of America always. But not this president.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protests also took place in Doonbeg, the village in the west of Ireland where Trump\u2019s golf course is located, and at Shannon Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anti-war activist groups have held demonstrations at the airport over the years protesting the US military\u2019s use of the facility as a refueling stop for its troops, and then-President Ronald Reagan\u2019s visit to Ireland in 1984 was also marked by protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about the planned protests against his visit in Ireland, Trump said he was unaware of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know there was a protest,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIt can\u2019t be a very big one, because we\u2019ve been all over Ireland today already,\u201d though he had just landed in Dublin a couple of hours prior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN photojournalist William Bonnett captured a small group of about 20 to 30 protesters in Doonbeg and Shannon on Saturday morning. One woman held a sign that read, \u201cWe do not like you here nor there. We do not like you ANYWHERE!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After wrapping up his meetings in Dublin, Trump will head west on Sunday to his Doonbeg course, where he will attend the Irish Open tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His son Eric Trump told Irish national broadcaster RT\u00c9 that the golf course is the largest employer in the local area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo down to Morrissey\u2019s tavern in Doonbeg and hear from a real Irish person as to whether or not they like President Trump and the Trump family,\u201d he said. \u201cGo have them attest to what we\u2019ve done for the country and what we\u2019ve invested in the country and the love and respect that our family has always shown them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connolly was among those who protested Trump\u2019s visit in 2019 before she was elected to the ceremonial position of Ireland\u2019s president in 2025. She was extremely critical of Trump during that campaign, describing him as \u201csomebody who armed and funded genocide.\u201d For his part, Trump referred to Connolly as a \u201che\u201d in March when asked by an Irish reporter about her comments<\/a> about \u201cviolations of international law\u201d in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLook, he\u2019s lucky I exist, that\u2019s all I can say,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIf you\u2019re gonna allow countries that are sick and demented \u2014 and they are demented \u2014 to have nuclear weapons, everybody in the whole world should be very thankful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there was any tension between Connolly and Trump, he didn\u2019t hint at it, calling her \u201cterrific\u201d during his remarks at the embassy later. In a statement released by her office, Connolly took a slightly more forceful course, saying she \u201cconveyed the strong view of the Irish people that the normalization of war and genocide can never be accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Trump said he hates \u201cwhat\u2019s happening with Europe\u201d on immigration and trade, he gave effusive praise to the people of Ireland, one of two European Union countries where English is listed as one of the official languages, with somewhat of a backhanded compliment about their toughness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople love coming to Ireland. You know why? Because they love you. They love the people. There\u2019s a friendliness. There\u2019s, uh, there\u2019s also a vicious and a toughness,\u201d Trump said. \u201cLet me tell you, you are some of the most vicious bastards I\u2019ve ever (seen). But when you want to be nice, there\u2019s nobody nicer.\u201d || CNN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dublin\u00a0\u2014\u00a0President Donald Trump said Saturday that Irish reunification \u201cwould be a fantastic thing\u201d during a bilateral meeting with Ireland\u2019s taoiseach, Miche\u00e1l Martin, something he projected is \u201cgoing to happen eventually.\u201d When a reporter asked his view on the topic, Trump at first acknowledged his comments could inflame a politically sensitive issue before voicing support. \u201cWell, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_post_split":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[140,141,142,144,135,143,145],"class_list":["post-275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-dublin","tag-irish","tag-irland","tag-northern-ireland","tag-trump","tag-trump-visit","tag-united-kingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=275"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":277,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions\/277"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}