President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that he would like to see the island of Ireland be fully unified in the near future. The remarks came during a two-day visit to Ireland that included meetings with Irish officials and a stop related to the Irish Open golf tournament at his County Clare resort.
Trump landed at Dublin Airport and first met Irish President Catherine Connolly at Áras an Uachtaráin. He then held a bilateral meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Farmleigh House. After that meeting, reporters asked about Irish reunification while the two leaders sat together.
“Well, I don’t want to cause any problems, but I will tell you I’d love to see it unified. I have friends on both sides, great people. They’re Irish people. How can they be bad, right? I’d love to see it unified,” the president answered.
“I think it would be a great feather in everybody’s cap if that happened. It’s going to happen eventually. You know what? The way I look at it, it’s going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now. We’re talking about it and you got the right man over here to get it moving. But, yeah, I think it would be a fantastic thing. Now the UK will have something to say about it, obviously. But I think it would be a great thing. I mean, how can it be bad?”
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🚨🇮🇪 BREAKING: President Trump says Irish unity will “happen eventually”, adding that it would “be a great thing” pic.twitter.com/o6ShgbOyiE
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The island has been partitioned since the early 1920s, with the Republic of Ireland independent and Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended three decades of conflict known as the Troubles, sets conditions for any change in Northern Ireland’s status.
A referendum in Northern Ireland can occur only if the British government determines that a majority there is likely to support leaving the United Kingdom; voters in the Republic of Ireland would also need to approve unification.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham had stated weeks earlier that a referendum was “off the table” because he did not see majority public support. A Downing Street spokesman said after Trump’s comments that Burnham’s position remained unchanged and that the government remained committed to the Good Friday Agreement.
Later on Saturday, Trump spoke at Deerfield Residence, the home of U.S. Ambassador Edward S. Walsh. While speaking with embassy staff, he referred back to the earlier question. “That’s one of those questions where no matter what you say, no matter how well you say it, there’s no good answer, right?” Trump said.
“I actually said it would be, I think, a very cool thing. To be honest with you, I think it would be cool, as half the room clears out,” he added.
