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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Taoiseach Micheál Martin touted the ties between the U.S. and Ireland on Wednesday, carrying on an annual tradition meant to mark the friendship between the two countries around St. Patrick’s Day that, this year, comes under the shadow of bubbling trade tensions between America and Europe.
Sitting down in the Oval Office, Trump lauded the “tremendous business relationships” with Ireland. The taoiseach, the Irish term for leader, called the trip and meeting a “great honor.”
But hanging over the Oval Office meeting was Trump’s latest round of tariffs — this time 25% on all steel and aluminum imports — that took effect just hours before the leaders sat down. The move prompted the European Union — of which Ireland belongs — to hit back with its own fees on U.S. goods.
The U.S. president has been particularly critical of the EU, recently claiming it was only created to “screw” America. He reiterated the sentiment Wednesday, this time using the word “advantage” instead of “screw.” Asked if that included Ireland, Trump said it does, before noting that he has “great respect” for the country.
“Of course I will respond,” Trump said in the Oval Office when asked if he will hit back against the EU’s new reciprocal tariffs announced on Wednesday.
Trump has made balancing U.S. trade deficits with other countries a top goal of his wide-scale tariff agenda and often points out such deficits with other countries when their leaders come to visit. Ireland ranked fifth among countries the U.S. recorded the largest trade deficits with last year, amounting to more than $85 billion, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
“We’re going to work together great, but the deficit is massive,” Trump said, referring to Ireland.
Earlier in the week, the Irish leader stressed the reliance of his nation’s economy on the U.S., noting “thousands and thousands of jobs depend on the economic relationship” between the two. As of 2023, Ireland exported more goods to America than any other country, according to the Central Statistics Office.
Meanwhile, the war in the Gaza Strip was also expected to be a significant topic on the agenda in the pair’s meeting, as Ireland has long been considered one of the most passionate supporters of a Palestinian state due perhaps, in part, to its history of British occupation.
Asked in the Oval Office about Irish party leaders not taking part in the annual St. Patrick’s Day visit to Washington this year due to Trump’s stance on the war, the president first asked what they were boycotting. When he was told by a reporter, he said that he hadn’t “heard that.”
The taoiseach started his day taking part in the first in a series of festivities that typically accompanies an Irish leader’s St. Patrick’s Day visit — a breakfast with the vice president at his or her residence. Vice President JD Vance told Martin he wore shamrock socks for the occasion.
Next, Trump and Martin headed to Capitol Hill for a luncheon hosted by House Speaker Mike Johnson before the two leaders attend a reception at the White House in the early evening.
The Irish leader started his U.S. trip stopping by the South by Southwest arts festival in Austin, Texas.
