Donald Trump likens Irish border issue to wall between US and Mexico
Trump, sitting next to a visibly uncomfortable prime minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, waded into the Brexit debate minutes after Air Force One touched down at Shannon airport on Wednesday afternoon.
Donald Trump has started his visit to Ireland by comparing its post-Brexit border with Northern Ireland to the US border with Mexico, along which he wants to build a permanent wall. Varadkar interjected that Ireland wished to avoid a border or a wall.
“I think you do, I think you do,” Trump said.
The exchange was an awkward start for what is expected to be a low-key end to Trump’s visit to Europe, with much of his time expected to be spent at his golf and hotel resort in Doonbeg, County Clare. After meeting with the Irish prime minister Trump was due to take a short helicopter ride to his resort on the Atlantic coast.
The Irish president, Michael D Higgins, made an unexpected intervention on the eve of the visit by calling Trump’s policy on the climate emergency “regressive and pernicious”, a critique protesters will echo at rallies in Shannon and Dublin.
The visit has created a political and diplomatic challenge for the Irish government. Trump is not popular in Ireland. Varadkar reportedly requested to have the meeting at Shannon airport, a neutral venue, rather than in Trump’s resort.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/05/ireland-visit-donald-trump-arrives-leo-varadkar-discussions
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trump knows best
