{"id":627792,"date":"2026-08-08T23:18:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T23:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/627792\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T23:18:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T23:18:19","slug":"trump-is-coming-back-to-ireland-and-the-political-headache-is-back-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/627792\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump is coming back to Ireland \u2013 and the political headache is back too"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHEN DONALD TRUMP\u00a0visited Ireland for the first time as US president in 2019, there was very much a sense that it was a political headache for the Irish government.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The same could be said for the visit due to take place in September.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Seven years ago, the government\u2019s attention was focused on Brexit and what it meant for the border with Northern Ireland. Having a controversial figure like Trump decide to pop over for a round of golf at his resort in Doonbeg was probably the last thing it needed at the time.<\/p>\n

Alas, the Taoiseach would have to meet the US president<\/a>\u00a0somewhere.<\/p>\n

Trump was headed straight for Clare after Air Force One landed in June 2019, so there was no time for a meeting in Dublin (much to the relief of the government and the garda\u00ed, as it would have been a logistical and costly nightmare).<\/p>\n

\"president-donald-j-trump-joined-by-first-lady-melania-trump-and-irish-prime-minister-leo-varadkar-signs-the-guestbook-at-shannon-airport-in-ireland-on-june-5-2019-during-an-official-visit-to-the\"
\n President Donald Trump, joined by First Lady Melania Trump and former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, signing the guestbook at Shannon Airport in 2019. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n

So where would this bilateral between the Taoiseach of the day Leo Varadkar and Trump take place? Sure, why not a random office in Shannon Airport just feet from the tarmac.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a reporter there that day, the vibe was that the meeting at Shannon was a box-ticking exercise.<\/p>\n

The two men sat between the US and Irish flags with a bronzed statue of the Children of Lir between them. It was a cold, white office. Irish and US officials sat on an array of brown leather seats. The media were squeezed in for a few minutes of questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"on-june-5-2019-president-donald-trump-met-with-irish-prime-minister-leo-varadkar-at-shannon-airport-in-ireland-to-discuss-bilateral-relations-and-issues-of-mutual-interest-between-the-u-s-and-irela\"
\n Trump and Varadkar meeting in a room in Shannon Airport. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n

Brexit came up of course, with Trump stating that it would be good for Ireland, and that the Irish border would \u201cwork out well\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also drew comparisons between the Northern Ireland border and the US-Mexican one \u2013 leaving\u00a0Varadkar having to\u00a0hastily explain<\/a>\u00a0that Ireland doesn\u2019t actually\u00a0want\u00a0a border.<\/p>\n

Trump also showed little concern for the criticisms from then-president Michael D Higgins, who had called Trump\u2019s position on climate change stance \u201cregressive and pernicious\u201d. Trump insisted that he had not heard about the comments.<\/p>\n

The Journal asked if the two leaders would discuss Ireland\u2019s corporation tax. \u201cYou mean the fact that it\u2019s so low,\u201d Trump replied, stating that Varadkar had done a good job keeping it low.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unlike the time Trump visited Ireland in 2014, before he was elected US president, there was no fanfare and not a harpist in sight on the Shannon tarmac.<\/p>\n

The quick chit-chat was about getting it over with \u2013 both for Trump and for the Taoiseach.<\/p>\n

Something Miche\u00e1l Martin probably also wants with the September visit.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Balancing act<\/p>\n

Like every meeting with Trump, there are always nerves that it could take a turn for the worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It would be fair to say Varadkar managed his meetings with Trump both in the Oval Office on St Patrick\u2019s Day and on that occasion in Shannon Airport pretty well. There were no notable diplomatic incidents (apart from the time he had to clarify he hadn\u2019t helped the US president with a planning issue<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Compared to 2019 Trump, the US president is now more powerful and more unpredictable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Such is why Martin would probably love a short, quick meeting in an airport hangar with Trump in September, rather than what is tipped to be a larger scale meeting in Dublin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2019 visit sparked protests from climate change, left-wing, pro-Palestine, pro-choice, anti-racism and anti-war activists, who flew the Trump baby blimp in Dublin.<\/p>\n

It is expected that similar could take place next month, with significant disruption on the cards.<\/p>\n

The Trump visit comes at the same time as work resumes on Ireland\u2019s European Union presidency, which ramps up again in the autumn.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s talk that after taking in the Irish Open at Doonbeg, Trump might come to Dublin for a bilateral with the Taoiseach,\u00a0possibly in Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also expected to make a courtesy call to \u00c1ras an Uachtar\u00e1in to meet Catherine Connolly. Hopefully someone has informed Trump<\/a> that our president is actually a woman.<\/p>\n

Connolly hasn\u2019t hidden her views of the US president, but as mentioned above, neither did Michael D Higgins. However, he didn\u2019t have to meet him in person. How that interaction plays out will be keenly watched.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"washington-united-states-of-america-17-march-2026-u-s-president-donald-trump-right-escorts-the-taoiseach-of-ireland-micheal-martin-left-along-the-west-colonnade-of-the-white-house-march-17\"
\n The Taoiseach with Trump at the White House is September. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n

Meeting with Trump<\/p>\n

So how will Martin handle the meeting with Trump?\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Taoiseach will probably take the same approach as he did in March<\/a> at the White House.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Martin struggled to get a word in at times during that sit-down, the Taoiseach came out of it relatively unscathed, which is what he will be hoping for again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before that meeting, there was pressure on the Taoiseach to speak about Iran and peace in the Middle East, something Martin did mention.<\/p>\n

He spoke about the need for a peaceful resolution in the Gulf crisis, referencing the Troubles and stating that Ireland knows what it is like to live in conflict.<\/p>\n

However, he came in for criticism\u00a0for referring to Trump doing his \u201cbit\u201d for peace in the region<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some six months later, that issue remains to the fore. One issue that might cause some tension if raised is the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Act, which was enacted before the D\u00e1il summer recess.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But having sat through many bilateral meeting press conferences between Trump and the Taoiseach of the day over the years, be it Enda Kenny, Varadkar or Martin, Trump tends to only have kind words about Ireland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Ireland. I love Doonbeg,\u201d Trump said in 2019, writing the same in the Shannon Airport visitors\u2019 book.<\/p>\n

So expect fawning over the Irish, perhaps a few jibes about Europe and maybe a tense moment about the Occupied Territories Act from Trump, if it\u2019s brought up.<\/p>\n

From the Taoiseach, expect a few attempts to get a word in with the US president, talk of close ties between the two countries, and clock-watching, counting down the minutes till Trump boards Air Force One and departs \u2013 hopefully without leaving too much political damage behind him.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WHEN DONALD TRUMP\u00a0visited Ireland for the first time as US president in 2019, there was very much a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,356,40191,18,13,14,6,19,17,30561,11,12,15,16,27085,5,7,8],"class_list":["post-627792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-donald-trump","tag-doonbeg","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-open","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-martin","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117062449129682078","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}