# Trump backs a united Ireland, Belfast pushes back

> A single line at a Dublin press conference reopened the oldest argument in Irish politics.
- Title: Trump backs a united Ireland, Belfast pushes back · ABC News
- Summary: A single line at a Dublin press conference reopened the oldest argument in Irish politics. Only a referendum in Northern Ireland can change its status, and…
- Keywords: ireland, trump, northern ireland, good friday agreement, politics, news, backs, united, Belfast, pushes, back, ABC News
- Source: ABC News — https://abcnews.com/Politics/irish-leaders-react-after-trump-hed-love-unified/story?id=136388732
- Author: ABC News
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ireland, trump, northern ireland, good friday agreement, politics, news
## A remark lands in Dublin
Trump arrived in Dublin on Saturday and quickly angered unionist leaders in Northern Ireland by saying he wanted to see the island's division end.
## Two meetings, one message
He met Irish President Catherine Connolly behind closed doors, then Taoiseach Micheal Martin. The press conference after is where he said it.
## It may as well happen now
Trump called unification "fantastic" and framed it as inevitable, a feather in everybody's cap, something Ireland might as well get on with immediately.

> It's going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now.
## Why the border exists
Partition came in 1921, splitting mostly Protestant, UK-ruled Northern Ireland from the largely Catholic south after centuries of conflict. The Troubles followed in the late 1960s.
## The 1998 rulebook
The Good Friday Agreement ended the Troubles, disarmed paramilitaries, and set one condition: the North stays in the UK until a majority there votes otherwise.
## Not your call
DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the North's future is decided by its own people, not commentary from London, Dublin or Washington. UUP leader Jon Burrows called it a fallout with the UK, not a question for a foreign dignitary.

> Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom because that is the settled democratic will of its people.
## No vote coming
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said a unity vote is off the table and his office confirmed that stands. Protesters filled Dublin's streets; Trump shrugged it off.

> I gave a nice answer, I think. We'll worry about it tomorrow.
## Key takeaway

Only a referendum in Northern Ireland can change its status, and no outside endorsement moves that clock.