President Donald Trump said during a visit to Dublin that he would “love to see” Northern Ireland reunified with the Republic of Ireland, calling the prospect “fantastic” while acknowledging that the United Kingdom would have a decisive role in any change.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
President Donald Trump publicly embraced the prospect of a united Ireland on Saturday, breaking with the traditionally neutral posture of U.S. presidents on one of the most politically sensitive questions in British and Irish affairs.
Speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin following talks in Dublin, Trump said he believed reunification of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would ultimately occur and questioned why it should be postponed.
“The way I look at it, it’s going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now,” Trump told reporters.
“I think it would be a fantastic thing,” he said, while adding that “the UK will have something to say about it, obviously.” Trump later acknowledged that there was “no good answer” to the question while again describing Irish unity as “a very cool thing.”
The comments represented a notable departure from the caution traditionally exercised by American presidents on Northern Ireland’s constitutional status. The United States played an important role in the peace process that produced the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, but previous administrations generally avoided taking a position on whether Northern Ireland should remain in the United Kingdom or join the Republic of Ireland.
Ireland has been politically divided for more than a century, with Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom while the remainder of the island became what is now the Republic of Ireland.
The Good Friday Agreement, reached after three decades of violence known as the Troubles, established the principle that Northern Ireland’s constitutional future must be determined through democratic consent. A border poll must be called if the U.K. secretary of state for Northern Ireland concludes that a majority appears likely to favor joining a united Ireland. Reunification would ultimately require majority support in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last month that a unity referendum was “off the table.” Downing Street reiterated Saturday that the government’s position had not changed following Trump’s remarks.
Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson, whose party supports Northern Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom, rejected Trump’s prediction.
“As unionists we are not interested in the destruction of our country by joining with the Irish Republic,” Robinson wrote on X.
Robinson separately emphasized that Northern Ireland’s constitutional future would be decided by its own population rather than outside governments.
Trump’s comments came during a two-day visit combining official meetings in Dublin with an appearance at the Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, County Clare.
The president arrived aboard the refurbished aircraft originally provided to the United States by Qatar, which had recently entered service as Air Force One. The trip prompted one of Ireland’s largest presidential security operations, involving nearly 4,000 police and other personnel and an estimated cost approaching 20 million euros.
Trump was received in Dublin by Irish President Catherine Connolly before meeting Martin. He inspected a military guard of honor during the official portion of the visit.
The discussions with Irish officials ranged beyond reunification, encompassing the war with Iran, U.S.-European trade, tariffs affecting pharmaceutical products and immigration. Ireland and the United States retain extensive economic and ancestral ties, with U.S.-owned companies representing a significant part of the Irish economy.
Their governments also differ sharply on several foreign-policy issues. Ireland has been among the European countries most critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and has supported restrictions targeting trade connected to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Connolly, who had participated in protests during Trump’s 2019 visit before becoming president, told Trump Saturday of what she described as “the strong view of the Irish people that the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted.”
Following his Dublin engagements, Trump traveled west to the Doonbeg property purchased by the Trump Organization in 2014, where some 40,000 spectators were expected over the weekend for the Irish Open. The tournament featured six-time major champion Rory McIlroy, currently ranked No. 2 in the world.
McIlroy, who has previously played golf with Trump, said ahead of the tournament that the president’s presence would inevitably make the event feel “different,” but said competitors intended to “keep our heads down and play.”
Trump’s attendance at a major international tournament hosted by a property bearing his name also renewed scrutiny of the overlap between presidential travel and his family’s business interests.
“He’s really just visiting the golf resort he owns and dropping into Dublin for a courtesy visit,” Daniel Geary, a U.S. history professor at Trinity College Dublin, said.
“He sees little difference between his private interests and his role as president.”
Trump has repeatedly incorporated his golf properties into high-profile activities since returning to office in January 2025. During a trip to Scotland last summer, he hosted then-U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his Turnberry resort before inaugurating another Trump-branded course near Aberdeen.
He may also participate in Sunday’s Irish Open closing events, potentially including presentation of the tournament trophy.
But it was Trump’s statement on Irish unity that produced the most immediate political reaction Saturday.
Under the Good Friday Agreement, neither the U.S. president nor the Irish government can unilaterally change Northern Ireland’s constitutional status. That decision remains governed by the principle of consent and, ultimately, votes on both sides of the Irish border.
Trump nevertheless made his personal preference unusually explicit.
“I’d love to see it unified,” he said. “It’s going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now.”
Original article
Comments