From Malay Mail · · 3m
Trump backs a united Ireland, and Dublin flinches
On a two-day visit wrapped in protest and golf, Trump broke with decades of US neutrality on Irish unity.
In brief
On a two-day visit wrapped in protest and golf, Trump broke with decades of US neutrality on Irish unity. Trump's offhand endorsement of Irish unity carries no mechanism behind it, but it rattles a settlement both London and unionists say is not up for renegotiation. Originally reported by Malay Mail.
He'd love to see it
Donald Trump said Saturday he would "love to see" a united Ireland, opening a two-day visit by stepping straight into the most sensitive question on the island.
“I'd love to see a united Ireland”
It may as well happen now
After meeting Prime Minister Micheal Martin in Dublin, he called reunification "a fantastic thing" and predicted it was coming anyway. He added that the UK would obviously have something to say.
“It's going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now.”
A century of partition
The island has been split since 1921, with the Republic in the south and Northern Ireland part of the United Kingdom. That line has held for more than a hundred years.
The rules for a vote
Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, a border poll can be called only if the UK government judges that a majority in Northern Ireland is likely to back joining the Republic.
Both sides must say yes
Voters in the Republic would also have to endorse reunification in their own poll. Two referendums, not one, stand between the idea and reality.
Washington drops neutrality
The United States has kept a deliberately neutral line on Irish unity for decades. A sitting president saying he wants it is a break from that posture.
London says off the table
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham ruled out a unity referendum last month, drawing a sharp response from Sinn Fein. His office pointed to his pledge to stick to the Good Friday Agreement "100 per cent".
Unionists push back hard
Gavin Robinson, who leads the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, posted on X that unionists have no interest in what he called the destruction of their country.
“as unionists we are not interested in the destruction of our country”
A €20 million welcome
The visit ran under one of the largest security operations ever mounted in Ireland, reportedly costing €20 million. At least 4,000 police and other personnel were mobilised, snipers included.
Two thousand on the streets
Protesters filled Dublin at lunchtime waving Palestinian flags and chanting that Trump was not welcome. One sign read "no imperialists in Ireland", and a small masked group burned a US flag.
“Trump is a warmonger. He has no right to be in my country.”
Chanting USA at Doonbeg
He landed by Marine One at his family's Doonbeg course, hosting the Irish Open, and watched the 18th green with sons Don Jr. and Eric. Drinkers in the members' bar gave him a rapturous reception.
Where the politics diverge
President Catherine Connolly told him the Irish people reject the normalisation of war and genocide. Ireland is among Europe's most pro-Palestinian states and backs a trade ban on West Bank settlements.
“He sees little difference between his private interests and his role as president”
Here's the gist
Trump's offhand endorsement of Irish unity carries no mechanism behind it, but it rattles a settlement both London and unionists say is not up for renegotiation.
