During a visit to his golf resort in Ireland, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed support for Irish reunification, characterizing the potential joining of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland as a positive development.
Appearing alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin, Trump shared his perspective on the long-standing, politically delicate matter, suggesting that a unified Ireland is an inevitable outcome.
“I don’t want to cause any problems but I’d love to see it unified,” Trump told a reporter. “It’s going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now.”
“I think it would be a fantastic thing,” Trump added, while noting that “the U.K. will have something to say about it, obviously.”
Addressing American and Irish business executives at the U.S. ambassador’s residence later that day, Trump acknowledged the deep complexity surrounding the issue, stating there is “no good answer” regarding reunification.
Northern Ireland, which holds a Protestant majority, has remained a part of the United Kingdom, while Irish nationalists have historically pursued merger with the Republic of Ireland. The territorial dispute fueled decades of violent sectarian conflict known as the Troubles before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement established a framework where a referendum on unity could occur if public support clearly indicated a shift.
Previous American chief executives have traditionally avoided taking a explicit stance on Northern Ireland’s political status.
Asked about Trump’s remarks, Downing Street pointed to prior statements from UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who noted the British government would only weigh a vote “when public opinion has changed to the point where the call has to be considered.”
Trump’s commentary coincides with his recent observations on the Falkland Islands—the British overseas territory claimed by Argentina as Las Malvinas—and comes amid reported tension over Britain’s reluctance to directly join U.S.-Israeli military actions involving Iran.