Wrap-up of Trump weekend visit

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Today with David McCullagh 12 min 2 speakers 8 chapters transcribed 1 hour ago

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What were the biggest headlines from Donald Trump’s weekend visit to Ireland?

David McCullagh 0:01

Well, as we've just been discussing, President Trump certainly made his presence felt during his trip to Ireland over the course of the visit. He changed his tariff policy, threw a hand grenade into Anglo Irish relations, riffed on international policy, and dominated the media agenda around the world. People here are left with their heads spinning, but maybe that just counts as a normal weekend for Donald Trump. Delighted to be joined on the line by Katrina Perry, Chief Presenter with BBC News Washington. Morning, Katrina.

Caitríona Perry 0:26

Hi David, how are you?

David McCullagh 0:27

I'm only fabulous. How are you more to the point? That was some weekend, wasn't it? How do overall, how how would you assess it?

Caitríona Perry 0:34

Um, I think if you're talking about the scale of complete disaster to absolutely amazing, it went pretty good. Um, we know Donald Trump is a master marketeer and he really couldn't scripted it better that his sort of last act was making that announcement on Irish whiskey, standing beside Shane Lowry as the winner of the Irish Open with the, you know, hometown crowd behind him. Going absolutely bananas. I mean the images of that, the vibes of that are just spectacular. But then when you row back into everything that was said over the sort of day and a half before that, that's when you get into things that are a bit more tricky, but no howling disasters.

David McCullagh 1:15

Okay, the uh I mean obviously the Irish Unity comments are are ones that have been picked up here. Um does it actually matter? Does it change anything? I mean he is the first US president to say something like that uh i in such an unvarnished way.

Caitríona Perry 1:28

Absolutely. I mean f you know, have a long history of our of US presidents getting involved in matters on this island, the peace process in particular, but none of them ever have called for Irish unity. It's more about, you know, let's respect both communities, let's work to a place of peace and applauding all the hard work that's been done by generations here. So that is quite remarkable.

How did Trump’s comments on a united Ireland spark political controversy?

Caitríona Perry 1:49

It doesn't effectively change anything because, you know, the Good Friday Agreement is the Good Friday Agreement and is the law on this and what Donald Trump says about it doesn't matter in that way, but it does spur on a conversation, as Marilyn MacDonald was just talking about there. It does make things a little difficult. um perhaps for the British government, particularly in light of what Andy Burnham had said on his first trip to Northern Ireland that he had to then clean up. And it makes life very awkward for the unionist community, for the conservatives in the UK. Um and you know, we saw that reflected in the statements that were put out in the wake of Donald Trump's comments. And he didn't just say it once, he said it three or four times.

David McCullagh 2:31

So obviously uh he he knew what he knew what he was doing. Now obviously I mean th these remarks have resonance here, they've resonance in Britain. Did they get picked up by the by the US and the international media as well? Did they pay much attention to it?

Caitríona Perry 2:44

Yeah, absolutely they did because you know, it is a remarkable thing to say uh from a US president. And also when you're in the US looking back at Ireland, many people look at the lens of Ireland through the peace process, through the troubles, particularly the Irish American community. Uh, you know, it's a diverse community, but traditionally would lean more Republican in an Irish sense of the word, even if they're Democrats and Republicans in the American sense. Uh so that message is very favourable to many in the Irish American community. And, you know, speaking to people who were in some of these private meetings with the President over the last few days and indeed in the US previously. This is his view and this is the view of some of those in his circle as well that they would like to see a United Island.

Caitríona Perry 3:32

So I think that was in his mind when he was coming here and then he was asked the question, he said it, he saw the reception that it got. And so he kept repeating it.

David McCullagh 3:42

Mm. Uh just on the Irish whiskey, Katrina, because it was kind of fascinating that he he basically came out and said he was he was making this decision to remove the tariffs because people had asked him to.