Trump touches a nerve while in Ireland by saying reunification would be 'fantastic'

DUBLIN -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that a unified Ireland would be “fantastic” as he waded into a complex and politically charged subject during a weekend visit to a tournament at his Irish golf course.

At a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin, Trump said he would love to see the reunification of the Republic of Ireland with the United Kingdom's Northern Ireland.

“I don’t want to cause any problems but I’d love to see it unified," Trump told a reporter who sought his opinion on the issue. "It’s going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now.

“I think it would be a fantastic thing," the Republican president said, adding that "the U.K. will have something to say about it, obviously.”

At his next stop, Trump acknowledged there is “no good answer” to the reunification question as he addressed business leaders from both countries gathered at the U.S. ambassador's residence.

The Irish unity debate is heated

Competing visions of Northern Ireland — whether Irish or British — drove decades of violence in the six-county region that has a Protestant majority and has remained part of the U.K.

Previous American presidents, including Democrat Joe Biden, who has strong emotional ties to Ireland, have avoided commenting directly on the subject.

Ireland, long dominated by its bigger neighbor Britain, became a self-governing Catholic-majority country a century ago. Northern Ireland was split between two main communities: nationalists, most of them Catholic, who desired union with the rest of Ireland, and largely Protestant unionists, who wanted to stay British. Tensions eventually exploded in the Troubles involving paramilitary groups on both sides and British troops.

A 1998 peace accord that the United States was instrumental in negotiating largely ended the violence, but left Northern Ireland’s ultimate status unresolved. That agreement allows for a vote on unification if it appears likely a majority of people would vote for it. U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday that the U.K. would only consider allowing a referendum “when public opinion has changed to the point where the call has to be considered.” Burnham’s office referred back to that comment when asked about Trump’s statement.

Trump's comments Saturday, along with recent statements about the Falkland Islands, a small British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean that Argentina calls Las Malvinas, could also be viewed as a dig at Britain, given his anger over London's refusal to be drawn into the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

Trump also talked about the Falkland Islands

Trump once more raised the prospect of conflict between the U.K. and Argentina over the Falklands. Argentina’s President Javier Milei, a Trump ally, has recently restated his country's claim to the territory of about 3,500 people, which is about 300 miles (480 kilometers) east of the southeast coast of Argentina.

Trump has previously said Washington could reconsider its neutral stance on the islands’ sovereignty. On Saturday, he expressed skepticism that Britain would be able to retake the Falklands as it did after Argentina invaded in 1982.

“I’m sure I’ll be called into that potential disaster, but if they do, I’ll probably be able to settle, settle it out,” he said.

A meeting with the Irish president who criticized Trump

Trump also held talks in Dublin with Irish President Catherine Connolly, a left-wing politician who joined protesters when Trump visited Ireland in 2019 during his first term in office. She is now Ireland's elected, largely ceremonial head of state. A supporter of the Palestinian cause, Connolly has in the past has criticized U.S. policy in the Middle East and called Trump a “bully.”

Connolly said in a statement after the meeting that she conveyed to Trump “the strong view of the Irish people that the normalization of war and genocide can never be accepted.” She gave Trump several gifts, among them a collection by the late Irish poet Michael Longley that includes the sonnet “Ceasefire.”

Asked about the meeting, Trump first had his protocol chief, Monica Crowley, answer before he was pressed and said it was “very nice.” “We discussed a lot of things, quickly,” Trump said.

Trump's presence irks some Dubliners

Police put up a cordon around Dublin’s 1,750-acre (700-hectare) Phoenix Park, where Connolly, Martin and U.S. Ambassador Edward Walsh have residences and welcomed Trump.

A protest march drew thousands to central Dublin. He had left the city and was on the way to his Doonbeg golf course on the country’s Atlantic coast by the time the demonstration began.

Many in the crowd waved Irish or Palestinian flags and chanted “Donald Trump not welcome here” and “Irish government, shame on you!”

Paula Butler said she came with a contingent from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre to oppose the American president’s “attitude to women, to refugees, to migrants.”

She was unimpressed by Trump’s support for Irish unity, a popular cause in Ireland.

“What he knows about Irish unity, I’d say I know more on my little finger,” Butler said.

Kim Mathis, who moved from Florida to Dublin last year with her partner, said “part of the reason we moved to Ireland was to get away from Trump and all of his horrific policies.”

She said dealing with Trump is “a global conundrum” for governments. “It would be really nice if politicians would just say, ‘Stay home.’”

Eric Trump defends family's presence in Ireland

Speaking to Irish national broadcaster RTE on Friday in Doonbeg, Trump's son Eric said the course is the largest employer in the area.

“Go down to Morrissey’s tavern in Doonbeg and hear from a real Irish person as to whether or not they like President Trump and the Trump family, go have them attest to what we’ve done for the country and what we’ve invested in the country and the love and respect that our family has always shown them,” he said.

Trump’s visit is the latest example of blending his official duties and personal interests.

He spends most weekends playing golf at his clubs in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia. His attendance at the Irish Open continues his trend of appearing at high-profile sporting events and having a hand in organizing some of them in ways that benefit his family business. His clubs in Doral, Florida, and Bedminster, New Jersey, have hosted professional golf tournaments this year.

Last year, Trump went to Scotland for five days to play golf at his club in Turnberry and later inaugurated a Trump golf course in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire. During that visit, he held talks with the British prime minister and the president of the European Commission.

Asked if he would return to Ireland next year for the Ryder Cup, Trump said, “I will. Absolutely.”