Opposition politicians want the Taoiseach to raise Ireland’s position on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza with the United States president during their meeting in the White House next week.
Micheál Martin’s trip for St Patrick’s Day festivities comes against the backdrop of a public clash between Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the Oval Office last Friday.
Ireland has been highly critical of the Russian invasion, and supports a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore predicted Mr Martin’s meeting with the US president will be “a very challenging discussion”. Mr Martin must “use the platform” he has to raise issues about Ukraine and Ireland’s solidarity with Ukraine. On Gaza, she said: “I don’t think we can shy away from that.”
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Ms Whitmore said Mr Martin does not need to enter the White House being “highly critical”. However, she said, he should be “expressing the Irish people’s concern” particularly regarding those two international areas.
On the prospect of a public row during the Oval Office meeting, she said: “You just don’t know what way it’s going to go to Donald Trump”, suggesting it could “depend on what breakfast he has in the morning”.
Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik said next week’s meeting is a “very difficult prospect”. It was now “so difficult to predict” what President Trump would say to Mr Martin, or how the Taoiseach would be treated.
“I’m sure there is a fear in Government circles that there will be some sort of pincer movement, some sort of left field or out of the blue intervention by either Trump, or indeed, as we saw on Friday, by vice-president [JD] Vance that may catch him out.”
Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger said there was a “public humiliation” of Mr Zelenskiy by Mr Trump and Mr Vance last week, which ”calls into question the Taoiseach’s visit to the White House – normalising what Trump is doing”.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Harris agreed an in-person meeting with US secretary of state Marco Rubio during a phone call held between the pair on Tuesday afternoon.
The phone call, described as being “longer than expected”, touched on a “wide range of issues”, including the bilateral relationship between the US and Ireland and global crises including Ukraine and the Middle East.
