Trump defends his support for Irish unity despite U.K. uproar

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin and U.S. President Trump attend a bilateral meeting at Farmleigh House in Dublin on Saturday. | BLOOMBERG

BLOOMBERG

Sep 14, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump has defended his remarks calling for the unification of Ireland as “fairly routine,” standing by comments that have sparked a controversy in Northern Ireland.

“I’ve always loved the people of Ireland, and it just seems to me that you have Northern Ireland, and you have Ireland, and it would seem to me that one of the naturals of all time is put them together,” Trump told reporters Sunday as he attended the Irish Open in Doonbeg, Ireland.

“So that’s only my opinion. And by the way, many people agree,” he said. “I made what I consider to be a fairly routine comment. I’ve had so much support on that.”

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