The prime minister of Ireland, Michael Martin, is the latest European leader to visit United States President Donald Trump during his second term in the White House.
But the occasion was a markedly light-hearted one: to hold receptions and events in advance of St Patrick’s Day, a popular Irish holiday held each year on March 17.
Still, Wednesday’s visit was clouded by many of the same looming issues that accompanied other European leaders to the White House, among them Russia’s war in Ukraine and the fate of the delicate ceasefire in Gaza.
Trump took up much of the spotlight, holding court in an Oval Office sit-down. As the US president took questions from the news media, Martin appeared relatively silent.
When he did speak, Martin offered warm praise for the Irish-American alliance and the historic ties between the two countries.
He also touted Trump’s self-professed role as a peacemaker, as did French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer when they visited the White House in late February.
“Mr President, we are forever grateful for the United States’ contribution to transforming our island,” Martin said at a luncheon for the Friends of Ireland, a group of bipartisan US lawmakers. “We wish you well in the efforts that you are making to bring peace to the Ukraine and to the Middle East and further afield.”
Here are five takeaways from their meeting today at the White House.
A relatively warm visit, despite boycotts
The atmosphere was decidedly cosier than some of Trump’s other recent visits. Since taking office, Trump has welcomed a stream of world leaders, including King Abdullah II of Jordan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with whom he had a shouting match.
Both leaders came in the context of seeking assurances about US cooperation in regional conflicts: the war in Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza.
But with Martin – known by the title taoiseach, Irish for “chief” – the stakes were somewhat lower.
During their Oval Office sit-down, Martin’s conversation with Trump meandered to the US president’s luxury Doonbeg golf resort, situated on Ireland’s west coast.
“ I’d just say, president, you have the distinction of being, I think, the only president that has physically invested in Ireland through your Doonbeg,” Martin said, as Trump tried to interject.
“I love this guy,” Trump replied, pointing a thumb at Martin.
Trump responded with his own form of flattery, invoking Martin’s family history as the son of a famous boxer – and toeing Irish stereotypes about fighting.
“I know so many Irish fighters. They like to fight, and they are damn good at it too,” Trump said at the luncheon, before turning to Martin. “His father was a great fighter, actually. So that means, genetically, I’m not going to mess around with you. You understand? I’m a believer in that.”
Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, even wore shamrock socks and a green tie to mark the occasion.
But at one point during the visit, a journalist did confront Trump about some notable absences from this year’s St Patrick’s Day festivities.
Irish parties like Sinn Fein had announced last month that they would boycott the events in Washington, DC, over Trump’s stance on Gaza.
“ What are they boycotting?” Trump asked.
When the journalist explained, Trump shrugged it off. “ I haven’t heard that.”
Trump uses ‘Palestinian’ as a slur, dismisses ethnic cleansing concerns
Trump has previously said he would like the US to “own” the war-torn territory and permanently displace its Palestinian residents, in a move critics liken to ethnic cleansing.
But in recent weeks, the US president has backed away from that proposal. In an interview on February 21, for instance, he told Fox News hosts, “I’m not forcing it. I’m just going to sit back and recommend it.”
Still, his comments have continued to reverberate across the world, particularly as he continues to push for the annexation of countries like Canada.
At one point, a reporter asked Martin whether he planned to discuss Trump’s previous plans for expelling Palestinians from Gaza.
Trump instead jumped in, responding with a denial. “Nobody’s expelling any Palestinians,” he replied.
Palestinians were once again evoked at another point in the Oval Office conversation, as Trump reminisced about his recent speech to a joint session of Congress. He used the term “Palestinian” as an insult to blast his rivals in the Democratic Party.
“The Democrats have to get their act together, and if they don’t vote, then what you’re going to do is you’re going have taxes that are going to go through the roof,” Trump said, seeming to refer to recent budget negotiations in Congress.
Then, he pivoted to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Jewish senator who has led Democratic resistance to a Trump-approved budget.
“You’re going have some very bad things happen, and people are going to blame the Democrats. And Schumer is a Palestinian, as far as I’m concerned. You know, he’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore: He’s a Palestinian.”
Still, Martin lauded Trump for his approach to the peace process overall. After Trump was asked about the St Patrick’s Day boycott, the Irish prime minister interjected “to pay tribute to the president on the peace initiatives” in Gaza and elsewhere.
He also drew a parallel to the peace process in Northern Ireland, where there had been sectarian violence for several decades, continuing into the 1990s.
“I recall back in the early ’90s, when the first tentative steps to get peace in Ireland [were taken], people criticised people like John Hume or people like Albert Reynolds who were then taoiseach. But they kept going,” Martin said. “ Anything we can do to stop the violence, I think, is an extremely positive thing.”
Nevertheless, Martin reaffirmed his country’s commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, though he offered a caveat about feasibility.
“It’s been our view that a two-state solution would be ideal. It’s become much more challenging and difficult as times moved on. But that has always been our position,” he said.
Trump says he was ‘toughest ever’ on Russia
Much of the attention during their meeting also fell on the ongoing war in Ukraine, where Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Just a day prior, on Tuesday, US and Ukrainian officials had agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposal during negotiations in Saudi Arabia. Russia, however, has yet to agree to the deal.
Trump acknowledged that US envoys were already on their way to Moscow to encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept. Putin, however, has pledged not to commit to a temporary ceasefire, for fear Ukraine could re-arm.
Prime Minister Martin’s visit, however, brought to mind the last time a foreign leader visited the Oval Office. On February 28, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy arrived at the White House to discuss a deal that would see the US gain rights over part of his country’s rare earth minerals in exchange for support.
But the meeting spun off course, with Trump berating Zelenskyy about not being “thankful” enough and showing “disrespect”. Trump also accused Zelenskyy of not wanting to bring peace to Ukraine.
The US president referenced that encounter again on Wednesday, seated next to Martin.
“I’ve always said that Ukraine might have been the more difficult party. You saw. You were here a week ago when some interesting things happened,” Trump said. “I had somebody that didn’t seem to want peace. Now he’s agreed to peace.”
He also took pains to talk tough about Putin, a leader for whom he has shown public admiration. At the meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump at one point shouted, “Putin went through a hell of a lot with me,” though it was unclear what he meant.
Putin is currently subject to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, for crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
“What I did to Russia was very tough. I was the toughest ever,” Trump said, comparing himself to his predecessors, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and George W Bush.
He hinted he could take economic actions against Russia, something he has hinted at before. But then he demurred.
“ In a financial sense, yeah, we could do things very bad for Russia. It would be devastating for Russia. But I don’t want to do that because I want to see peace, and we’re getting close to maybe getting something done,” Trump said.
Trump threatens further tariffs on the EU
While the peace negotiations took up much of the president’s attention, he also spoke at length about a favourite economic tool: tariffs.
On Wednesday, the US imposed 25-percent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium, and Canada and the European Union (EU) responded with their own retaliatory trade measures.
But the trade war could escalate further, as Trump himself warned from the Oval Office.
“Of course, I’m going to respond,” Trump said in response to a question. “ The EU was set up in order to take advantage of the United States.”
He did not exempt Ireland from that statement, even when asked by a member of the news media. Instead, he accused Ireland of poaching the US pharmaceutical industry.
“All of a sudden Ireland has our pharmaceutical companies,” Trump said. “This beautiful island of five million people has got the entire US pharmaceutical industry in its grasp.”
Several major US pharmaceutical companies, including Merck and Pfizer, have factories in Ireland, drawn by lower taxes.
Their products help drive a trade deficit with the US. As of 2024, the US imported $103.3bn in Irish goods and exported $16.5bn in return.
But experts warn that, since most of Ireland’s pharmaceutical products are sent unfinished to the US to complete the manufacturing process, tariffs on those goods may simply drive up the costs of producing medical products.
Still, Trump framed the trade deficit as the result of poor US leadership.
“The United States shouldn’t have let it happen. We had stupid leaders. We had leaders that didn’t have a clue. Or, let’s say, they weren’t businesspeople,” Trump said.
Trump frames Ireland’s housing crisis as ‘good problem’
No meeting with Trump is without a few eyebrow-wiggling moments, and Trump offered some of his usual media-baiting zingers, including about extending his presidency beyond constitutional limits.
“Taoiseach, I want to just thank you once again for being here. It’s an honour, and hopefully we’re going be doing this at least three more times,” Trump said at the end of his remarks at the luncheon.
“We’re going be doing this three more times – at least. When I say ‘at least’, they go absolutely crazy,” he continued, pointing to the media.
Trump cannot run for office again in 2028, as presidents are restricted to two terms in the US.
But Trump also waded outside of US politics, into one of the most pressing issues in Ireland: the housing crisis.
Experts say population growth has outstripped housing supplies, driving up costs for those properties that are available. Homelessness is on the rise. And Ireland’s Central Statistics Office estimates that nearly two out of every three people between ages 18 and 34 live with their parents.
One Irish reporter asked Trump – with his experience in real estate – to offer advice to Martin.
“You know why they have a housing crisis?” Trump replied. “Because they’re doing so well. They can’t produce houses fast enough. That’s a good problem, not a bad problem.”
Martin appeared cheered by Trump’s support: “That’s a pretty good answer.”
As the room erupted with questions, Trump emphasised the point: “ Everybody should have that problem.”
