Trump says he would 'love' to see a united Ireland

Trump's comments come during a visit to Dublin and weeks after new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said a referendum on Northern Ireland leaving the United Kingdom was "off the table".

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ireland's Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Micheal Martin at Farmleigh House in Dublin, Ireland, September 12, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

DUBLIN: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday (Sep 12) he would "love" to see British-run Northern Ireland unify with Ireland , remarks made during a visit to Dublin that drew a sharp response from pro-British unionists in Northern Ireland .

Trump's comments come weeks after new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said a referendum on Northern Ireland leaving the United Kingdom was "off the table", a position Downing Street on Saturday said remained unchanged.

"Well, I don't want to cause any problems, but I will tell you, I'd love to see it unified," Trump told reporters sitting next to Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin after the pair met in Dublin. "It's going to happen eventually ... I think it would be a fantastic thing."

"Now the UK will have something to say about it ... but I think it would be a great thing," he added.

COMMENTS BREAK WITH NEUTRAL STANCE OF PREVIOUS PRESIDENTS

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Trump later said that there "was no good answer" to the question on Irish unity but repeated that he thought it would be "a very cool thing". Under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, a referendum can be held only at the discretion of the British government. The accord ended three decades of violence between Irish nationalists seeking a united Ireland and unionists who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK. 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.

Trump later said that there "was no good answer" to the question on Irish unity but repeated that he thought it would be "a very cool thing".

Under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, a referendum can be held only at the discretion of the British government. The accord ended three decades of violence between Irish nationalists seeking a united Ireland and unionists who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK.

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.

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Northern Ireland 's largest party advocating continued union with Britain, rejected Trump's prediction, saying unification with Ireland would lead to "the destruction of our country."

"Northern Ireland 's constitutional future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland , not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington," Gavin Robinson, who has publicly supported Trump in the past, wrote on X.

In Belfast, supporters of Irish unity gave a guarded response.

"I think it's just headline grabbing ... I don't think he gives a toss whether there is a United Ireland or not," said Eamon Hanna, a supporter of the nationalist SDLP party, which has been a strong critic of Trump's policies.

Previous US presidents, including those with strong Irish heritage like Joe Biden, have been careful to remain neutral on Irish unification. The US government played a key role in brokering the 1998 peace deal.

Trump also met Irish President Catherine Connolly, who had joined a protest against his 2019 visit to Ireland , before she was elected to the mostly ceremonial role last year.

Connolly, formerly a long-time left-wing lawmaker, said in a statement that she conveyed to Trump "the strong view of the Irish people that the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted."

US President Donald Trump gestures besides Irish President Catherine Connolly at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin, Ireland, Sep 12, 2026. (Photo: REUTERS/Kylie Cooper)

Her statement did not reference any conflict, but she has been previously critical of the US war with Iran and Israel's assault on Gaza, which Ireland , in common with a UN inquiry and several human rights groups, has described as a genocide.

Israel rejects that characterisation, saying that it is fighting the militants who attacked it from the Palestinian enclave in 2023.

Thousands of protesters, some holding posters calling Trump a warmonger and chanting "Free free Palestine", marched through central Dublin shortly after Trump left to watch a golf tournament at one of his resorts in the west of Ireland .

It was one of the country's largest anti-war protests in recent years.

The centrist premier Martin had earlier focused his remarks on the countries' close economic ties. US-owned companies, mainly in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors, employ about 10 percent of workers in Ireland after successive governments prioritised the companies' jobs and tax revenues over decades.

"You took all our medical companies, we've got to get a couple of them back," Trump said.

"You fleeced us but that's okay. There's a lot of room to go around and our relationship with you is fantastic."

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特朗普发表上述言论之际，正值他访问都柏林之时。几周前，英国新任首相安迪·伯纳姆表示，北爱尔兰脱离英国的公投“不在考虑范围内”。

2026年9月12日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在爱尔兰都柏林法姆利府会见了爱尔兰总理米歇尔·马丁。路透社/凯莉·库珀

都柏林：美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周六（9月12日）表示，他“非常乐意”看到英国统治下的北爱尔兰与爱尔兰统一。此番言论是在他访问都柏林期间发表的，引发了北爱尔兰亲英统一派的强烈反应。

特朗普发表上述言论的几周前，英国新任首相安迪·伯纳姆表示，关于北爱尔兰脱离英国的公投“不在考虑范围内”，唐宁街周六表示，这一立场仍然不变。

“我不想制造任何问题，但我必须说，我非常希望看到爱尔兰统一，”特朗普在都柏林与爱尔兰总理米歇尔·马丁会晤后，对坐在他旁边的记者说。“这最终会发生……我认为这将是一件非常棒的事情。”

“现在英国肯定会对此发表意见……但我认为这将是一件好事，”他补充道。

这些评论打破了以往总统的中立立场。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小小的谜题，强大的脑力挑战 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 特朗普后来表示，对于爱尔兰统一的问题“没有好的答案”，但他重申，他认为这将“非常酷”。根据1998年《贝尔法斯特协议》（又称《耶稣受难日协议》）的条款，只有英国政府才能酌情决定是否举行全民公投。该协议结束了爱尔兰民族主义者寻求爱尔兰统一与联合主义者希望北爱尔兰留在英国之间长达三十年的暴力冲突。虽然民调显示，北爱尔兰绝大多数民众支持留在英国，但自英国脱欧以来，支持和反对的比例略有缩小，因为脱欧将统一问题推到了政治议程的更高位置。

特朗普后来表示，对于爱尔兰统一的问题“没有好的答案”，但他重申，他认为这将是“一件非常酷的事情”。

根据1998年《贝尔法斯特协议》（又称《耶稣受难日协议》），是否举行全民公投完全由英国政府决定。该协议结束了爱尔兰民族主义者（寻求爱尔兰统一）和联合主义者（希望北爱尔兰留在英国）之间长达三十年的暴力冲突。

虽然民调显示，北爱尔兰绝大多数民众支持留在英国，但自英国脱欧以来，随着统一问题在政治议程中占据更重要的位置，这一差距略有缩小。

北爱尔兰最大的政党——主张与英国继续保持统一的民主统一党的领导人驳斥了特朗普的预测，称与爱尔兰统一将导致“我们国家的毁灭”。

“北爱尔兰的宪政未来将由北爱尔兰人民决定，而不是由伦敦、都柏林或华盛顿的评论决定，”过去曾公开支持特朗普的加文·罗宾逊在 X 上写道。

在贝尔法斯特，支持爱尔兰统一的人士反应谨慎。

“我认为这只是为了博取眼球……我认为他根本不在乎爱尔兰是否统一，”民族主义政党社会民主工党（SDLP）的支持者埃蒙·汉纳说道，该党一直强烈批评特朗普的政策。

包括像乔·拜登这样拥有深厚爱尔兰血统的美国总统在内，历任美国总统都谨慎地在爱尔兰统一问题上保持中立。美国政府在促成1998年和平协议中发挥了关键作用。

特朗普还会见了爱尔兰总统凯瑟琳·康诺利，她曾参与抗议特朗普 2019 年访问爱尔兰的活动，之后于去年当选为这个主要为礼仪性的职位。

康诺利曾长期担任左翼议员，她在声明中表示，她已向特朗普传达了“爱尔兰人民的强烈观点，即战争和种族灭绝的正常化是永远不能接受的”。

2026年9月12日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在爱尔兰都柏林总统府与爱尔兰总统凯瑟琳·康诺利一同做出手势。（图片：路透社/凯莉·库珀）

她的声明没有提及任何冲突，但她此前曾批评美国与伊朗的战争以及以色列对加沙的袭击，爱尔兰与联合国调查和几个人权组织一道，将加沙袭击描述为种族灭绝。

以色列否认这种说法，称其正在与2023年从巴勒斯坦飞地袭击以色列的武装分子作战。

特朗普离开都柏林前往他在爱尔兰西部的一处度假村观看高尔夫锦标赛后不久，数千名抗议者游行穿过都柏林市中心，其中一些人举着标语，称特朗普是战争贩子，并高喊“解放巴勒斯坦”。

这是近年来该国规模最大的反战抗议活动之一。

中间派总理马丁此前曾重点强调两国紧密的经济联系。由于历届政府数十年来一直优先考虑美国公司的就业和税收，这些公司主要集中在科技和制药行业，目前在爱尔兰雇佣了约10%的劳动力。

“你们把我们所有的医疗公司都夺走了，我们得把其中几家夺回来，”特朗普说。

“你们宰了我们一刀，不过没关系。市场还大，我们和你们的关系也很好。”

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