Donald Trump fired twin torpedoes into the Special Relationship this morning, by calling for a united Ireland and questioning Britain’s commitment to the Falkland Islands.
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The US President is visiting Dublin this weekend to watch the Irish Open at his Doonbeg golf club.
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But before heading to the tournament, he met with Irish PM Micheal Martin and took questions from the media.
Asked about the future of Ireland, he said: “I don’t want to cause any problems but I will tell you I’d love to see it unified.”
He went on: “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. It would be great. A great feather in everybody’s cap if that happened.
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“It’s gonna happen eventually. It may as well happen now. You have the right man over here to make it happen.
“Now, the UK will have something to say about it, obviously. But I think it’d be a great thing. How can it be bad?”
PM Andy Burnham said the question of a referendum on Irish unification was not on the table during his first official visit to Northern Ireland last week. Mr Burnham said the Brexit and Scottish independence polls showed the “risks that come from those situations take a long time to heal”.
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Under the terms of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, the UK secretary of state can decide to hold a border poll, and it also places a duty on the office holder to call one if it appears likely a majority would vote for Irish unification.
The people of the Republic of Ireland must also vote in favour to effect constitutional change.
Asked about his meeting with Irish President Catherine Connolly, Trump said: “We did discuss Northern Ireland…I find it a very interesting discussion. Because we know people of Northern Ireland and we know people of Ireland and I sometimes say ‘hey, when are you guys getting together?’. I do ask that question every time. I’m sure it’s complicated, but life is complicated.”
And he was asked about his conversation with Andy Burnham this week, and what he would do if his ally Javier Milei, the President of Argentina, invaded the Falkland Islands.
Trump appeared to suggest Britain would be reluctant to defend the islands because they take a long time to get to by boat.
“I think it was a different country [in 1982] at that time the UK a little bit, when they [Argentina] went in and took it over,” Trump said.
“I don’t know if they’d [the UK] be willing to travel that far. It is very far away. You’re talking about weeks by boat.
“I’m sure I’ll be called in to that potential disaster, but if they do I’ll probably be able to settle it out. But right now you have two countries that are not happy.”
The Falklands are considerably better defended now than they were in 1982. There are more than 1,000 troops, aircraft and a Royal Navy vessel now defending the Islands.
Trump later referred to his remarks about Irish unification during a speech at the US Embassy in Dublin – and indicated he was aware his comments would provoke anger.
“Every question is a kill,” he said. “They’re going for the kill at all times and they ask me a question. “What do you think about unification of Northern Ireland and Ireland?” I said, oh, that’s a nice question. I gave a nice answer, I think. We’ll read about it tomorrow. That’s one of those questions where no matter what you say, no matter how well you say it, there’s no good answer.”
He added: “I actually said it would be a very cool thing, to be honest with you. I think it would be cool. As half the room clears out, and they say ‘Let’s get the hell out of here, I don’t like this guy. I liked him 10 minutes ago, I don’t like him any more.”
Gavin Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, said: “President Trump knows better than most that elections matter. Northern Ireland’s constitutional future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom because that is the settled democratic will of its people. I am confident NI will continue to choose the UK and the security it offers.As unionists we are not interested in the destruction of our country by joining with the Irish Republic.”
Republican party Sinn Féin has boycotted the annual St Patrick’s day visit to Washington for the last two years over the current administration’s stance on the Middle East.However, Northern Ireland’s leading unionist parties, the DUP and UUP, have continued to attend and engage with Mr Trump, and the DUP Communities Minister Gordon Lyons hosted an event on Capitol Hill to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
TUV leader Jim Allister said Mr Trump “is not the first US president to meddle in the affairs which don’t concern him”.
He added: “Northern Ireland is not a pawn in Trump’s fall-out with the UK. Our constitutional future does not depend on him or any other foreign dignitary.”
Ulster Unionist Party Leader Jon Burrows MLA said the US president “like anyone else in the world, is entitled to express his view on the constitutional future of another country”.
“But the only people whose decision counts are the people of Northern Ireland,” he said.
“That is the principle of consent, now enshrined in law through the Belfast Agreement, negotiated and delivered by the Ulster Unionist Party.
“America has been, and remains, an important ally, from the Second World War and the global fight against terrorism to the defence of democracy around the world. Their businesses increasingly see that our workforce here is the best in the world.
“But when all is said and done, Northern Ireland’s future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland.
“I am confident that we are safer, more secure and more prosperous within the United Kingdom, and that is where we will remain.”
Former SDLP leader and MP for Foyle Colum Eastwood, an open critic of the US president, shared a clip of Mr Trump’s remarks on social media adding: “Always liked him.”
UUP MLA Robbie Butler MLA said there was a “sudden conversion” from some of Mr Trump’s opponents.
“For years we have been told this president is beyond the pale: his character, his conduct, his position on Gaza,” he said.
“Some of those now cheering him boycotted the White House over it. One sentence about a united Ireland and he is apparently a statesman of rare vision.
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“It seems his judgment is sound only on the one subject where it happens to suit. The cherry picking is at least consistent.”