Trump in Dublin backs Irish reunification, breaking decades of U.S. neutrality

During a two-day visit to Ireland on September 12, Donald Trump told reporters he would love to see Ireland unified, calling it a 'fantastic thing' and stating 'it's going to happen eventually.' The remarks break with the traditional U.S. neutral stance on the constitutional question of uniting the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Trump said: 'Well, I don't want to cause any problems, but I will tell you, I'd love to see it unified. It's going to happen eventually. I think it would be a fantastic thing.' He also told reporters: 'Now the UK would have something to say about it obviously but I think it would be a great thing, I mean, how can it be bad?' Trump said Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin was 'the right man over here to get it moving.' He described the bilateral relationship as stronger than ever, stating: 'We've a big relationship with Ireland. The two countries do very well together. It's never been as good as it is right now.' Trump and Martin discussed various topics, including trade, according to the BBC.

Trump's visit included a courtesy call with Irish President Catherine Connolly at the Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of the Irish president, before he traveled to County Clare for the Amgen Irish Open golf tournament. Per the BBC's reporting, more than 10,000 people marched through Dublin to show opposition to the U.S. president's visit. Connolly, an outspoken Gaza activist, told Trump during their meeting that 'the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted.' Al Jazeera reported that Connolly was elected head of state in 2025 and protested at Shannon Airport in western Ireland when Trump last visited Ireland as president in 2019.

The Good Friday Agreement, which ended three decades of sectarian conflict known as The Troubles, says the secretary of state must hold a border poll if it appears likely that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would vote for Irish unification, according to the BBC. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in the House of Commons on Wednesday that he 'will stick to it (the Good Friday Agreement) 100%' and described a border poll as 'off the table,' per the BBC and Al Jazeera. Burnham told the Commons that the question of a border poll is for the Northern Ireland secretary 'when there is clear consensus in the country, when public opinion has changed to the point at which the call has to be considered.'

A spokesperson for Taoiseach Martin said Trump's comments 'should come as a surprise to no one' and that the U.S. president has been 'consistent in his view that he sees unity in Ireland as the optimal outcome,' framing the remarks as continuity rather than a policy shift. Ireland's Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said: 'Something to this magnitude can only happen where there's consent from the Irish people. It's something that we have to work on and we have to work towards.' Per the BBC, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald acknowledged Trump's comments on a united Ireland and said the onus is on the Taoiseach to begin planning.

Unionist leaders in Northern Ireland rejected Trump's intervention. Gavin Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, said: 'President Trump knows better than most that elections matter. Northern Ireland's constitutional future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington.' Jon Burrows, Ulster Unionist Party leader, said while America is an 'important ally,' Northern Ireland's future will be decided by its people. Jim Allister, Traditional Unionist Voice leader, said Trump 'is not the first US President to meddle in the affairs which don't concern him.' Former DUP MP Ian Paisley, described as a close friend of the Trump family, said: 'everyone is allowed a personal opinion even when it's wrong.' Claire Hanna, Social Democratic and Labour Party leader, said there was something 'fairly extraordinary' about Trump standing in Dublin and talking openly about Irish unity, adding: '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.'

Al Jazeera reported that while polls show a comfortable majority in Northern Ireland favour remaining in the UK, the gap has narrowed slightly since Britain's departure from the European Union pushed unity higher up the political agenda.