Europe · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Donald Trump Backs United Ireland in Dublin, Says It Will Happen Eventually
Trump said he would love to see a united Ireland during his Dublin visit. He said reunification will happen eventually.
US president frames reunification as inevitable.
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Shows Trump’s inevitability versus UK leadership’s referendum conditions.
Trump backs united Ireland
US President Donald Trump triggered a diplomatic row during a visit to Dublin on Saturday by backing a united Ireland and telling reporters, “I’d love to see it unified,” while adding, “It’s going to happen eventually.”
“Speaking to reporters, the US president claimed Irish reunification as inevitable”
Trump said, “We’re talking about it and you got the right man over here to get it moving,” referencing Taoiseach Micheál Martin sitting next to him at a joint press conference.
The comments prompted a stern rebuke from the Conservatives in the UK, while Downing Street pointed to Andy Burnham’s rejection of an immediate border poll earlier in the week.
In Northern Ireland, unionist leaders pushed back, with DUP leader Gavin Robinson saying Northern Ireland’s future would be decided by its people, not “commentary in London, Dublin or Washington.”
Unionists, Downing Street react
Downing Street spokespersons said the prime minister still believed there was not the required support for unification to trigger a referendum under the Good Friday agreement, and the BBC reported that more than 10,000 people marched through Dublin to show opposition to Trump.
Kemi Badenoch said Trump was “shooting from the hip as usual,” adding that “This sort of loose talk about the future of democratic countries is deeply unhelpful and creates unnecessary tension.”
Unionist reactions also included Gavin Robinson’s insistence that Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom because of the “settled democratic will of its people,” while Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said Trump’s comments were “timely” and that Martin “must now begin planning for a united Ireland.”
In Dublin, the BBC described protesters chanting “Donald Trump, can you hear? We don’t want you here,” as the march reached its final destination just in front of Dáil Éireann.
Good Friday stakes and next steps
The dispute centers on the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, under which the UK’s Northern Ireland secretary can decide to hold a border poll and has a duty to call one if it appears likely a majority would vote for Irish unification.
“Under the terms of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement”
In the BBC’s recap of day one, it noted that protests continued even as Trump left the city just as the Dublin march began, with the route passing the GPO building and speakers addressing the crowd near Dáil Éireann.
The Guardian reported that Trump’s intervention came two weeks after Andy Burnham said a referendum on unification was “off the table,” and it quoted Downing Street saying there was not the required support to trigger a referendum.
As Trump continued his two-day visit, the BBC said he would spend the next day and a half at the Irish Open, while the Guardian described his remarks as coming at the start of that two-day Ireland trip.