In Dublin, Trump bats for Ireland reunification; gets pushback from UK PM

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he would “love” to see a united Ireland, predicting that reunification would happen eventually and calling it a “fantastic thing” during his visit to Dublin.Irish reunification is a deeply sensitive issue, dividing unionists who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK and nationalists who want it to become part of a united Ireland. The issue was at the heart of decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement largely ended the conflict.“Well, I don’t want to cause any trouble, but I will tell you, I’d love to see it unified,” Trump told reporters at Farmleigh House in Dublin. “It’s going to happen eventually. I think it will be a fantastic thing.”Trump's comments, made alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, marked a departure from the traditionally cautious stance taken by US presidents on the politically sensitive question of Irish reunification. Trump then pointed towards Martin and said the Irish prime minister was “the right man over here to get it moving”. “Now the UK will have something to say about it, obviously, but I think it would be a great thing,” he added.UK REACTSThe comments drew an immediate response from the UK government, which reiterated Prime Minister Andy Burnham's position that there was no current plan for a referendum on Northern Ireland's constitutional future. A Downing Street spokesperson referred to Burnham's comments in the House of Commons earlier this week, when he said he would “stick to” the Good Friday Agreement “100 per cent”.Burnham had said the question of a border poll was for the Northern Ireland secretary to consider “when there is clear consensus in the country” and public opinion had shifted sufficiently for the issue to be considered.Martin's office said Trump's comments “should come as a surprise to no one”, adding that the US president had been “consistent in his view that he sees unity in Ireland as the optimal outcome”.Trump later appeared to soften his stance slightly when asked about Irish unity at an event at the US ambassador's residence. “There’s no good answer,” he said, before adding, “I have a nice answer, I think. We'll read about it tomorrow.”He nevertheless repeated that he thought a united Ireland would be “a very cool thing”.WHAT THE GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT SAYSUnder the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which largely ended three decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles, a border poll can be called if it appears likely that a majority in Northern Ireland would vote for Irish unification.The agreement provides for a vote in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with a majority in favour required for reunification.The question of when such a poll should be held remains politically contentious. Burnham recently described a referendum as “off the table”, while Martin has called for greater clarity over the circumstances in which a border poll could be triggered.Trump's comments therefore put him at odds with the traditional US approach to the issue.Previous US presidents, including Joe Biden, who has frequently spoken about his Irish heritage, have generally avoided taking an explicit position on Irish reunification. The US played a key role in brokering the Good Friday Agreement.UNIONISTS HIT BACK, NATIONALISTS WELCOME TRUMP'S COMMENTSTrump's reunification pitch was rejected by Northern Ireland's pro-union politicians.Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson said Trump “knows better than most that elections matter” and insisted Northern Ireland's constitutional future would be determined by its people.“Northern Ireland's constitutional future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington,” Robinson said.Former DUP MP Ian Paisley, a friend of the Trump family, also pushed back, saying, “Everyone is allowed a personal opinion even when it's wrong.”Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows said that while the US was an “important ally”, Northern Ireland's future would be decided by its people.Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister accused Trump of being the latest US president to “meddle” in Northern Ireland's affairs.Nationalist politicians, meanwhile, welcomed Trump's comments.Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said she acknowledged Trump's remarks and argued that the onus was now on the Irish government to begin planning for a united Ireland.Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Claire Hanna described it as “fairly extraordinary” that Trump was openly discussing Irish unity while standing in Dublin.“When even Donald Trump has clocked that Irish unity is no longer some distant or theoretical prospect, it tells you something about just how far this conversation has shifted,” Hanna said.Ireland's Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said reunification could happen only with the consent of the people.“Something to this magnitude can only happen where there's consent from the Irish people,” she said. “It's something that we have to work on and we have to work towards.”TRUMP'S IRELAND VISIT, PROTESTS AGAINST US PRESIDENTTrump arrived in Ireland on Saturday for a two-day visit, holding talks with Martin and Irish President Catherine Connolly before travelling to County Clare to attend the Amgen Irish Open golf tournament at one of his resorts. (Photo: Reuters) The visit also saw thousands of people march through central Dublin in an anti-Trump protest, with demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and chanting against the US President.More than 10,000 people were estimated to have taken part, according to the BBC.- EndsPublished By: Prateek ChakrabortyPublished On: Sep 13, 2026 09:02 IST