Donald Trump has said he would like to see Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland united, departing from the long-standing US position of neutrality on the constitutional question.
Speaking in Dublin alongside Micheál Martin, the taoiseach, the US president said: “I don’t want to cause any problem. I will tell you, I’d love to see it unified. It’s going to happen eventually.”
Mr Trump later appeared to recognise the sensitivity of the issue, telling a gathering of embassy staff and business leaders at the US ambassador’s residence that there was “no good answer” to the question, however it was phrased.
He said he still believed it would “be a cool thing” if Northern Ireland left the United Kingdom, while joking that half the room might leave after hearing his comments.
The remarks touch on an issue at the heart of the 1998 Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement. The accord, which has long been supported by the United States, brought an end to roughly three decades of violence between nationalists seeking a united Ireland and unionists who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK.
Under the agreement, Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom unless a majority of its people vote otherwise in a referendum.
Mr Trump’s intervention came days after Andy Burnham, the recently elected British prime minister, said there was insufficient public support for a referendum on Northern Ireland leaving the UK. He said that, until such support existed, there would not be one.
Mr Trump acknowledged that the Government in London would probably “have something to say about” his comments. Patrick Dwyer-Cummins, a spokesman for 10 Downing Street, said Mr Burnham’s position was unchanged and that he remained committed to upholding the Good Friday Agreement.
Gavin Robinson, leader of Northern Ireland’s main pro-union party, criticised the president’s intervention. “Northern Ireland’s constitutional future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington,” he said.
Mr Robinson added: “Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom because that is the settled democratic will of its people.”
Mr Trump has previously spoken about Irish unification, including suggesting earlier this year that there should be a “merger” between Northern Ireland and Ireland because of the relationship between Mr Martin and Emma Little-Pengelly, Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister. Ms Little-Pengelly later said the remark was made in jest.
During his Dublin speech, Mr Trump also departed from the convention of overseas presidential visits by repeatedly attacking domestic political opponents, including describing former president Joseph R Biden Jr, who has cancer, as physically infirm.
