Trump spoke of “unification”, but “people” of Ireland decides. Now what?

O American President landed in Ireland this weekend to participate in a golf tournament. During his stay, he met with several leaders of the country, where he eventually made statements that provoked a strong reaction from pro-United Kingdom unionists in Northern Ireland.

“I don’t want to cause problems, but I would love to see Ireland unified,”, trump said, in a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Michel Martin in Dublin.

For the US President, the reunification of Ireland would be “a fantastic thing”, which “will happen eventually”, but for that to happen, the UK will also have a say, acknowledged.

It is recalled that these statements appear after the new British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said that a referendum on the departure of Northern Ireland from the UK was “out of the question”

The statements of the United States generated a stir and source of the British Prime Minister's office told Reuters that his decision on the referendum did not change.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, on the other hand, classified the “exaggerated” reactions.

“ The President's words didn't surprise me. He believes that the union is the logical path of setting up the island,” Micheál Martin said after a lunch with the American President, adding that if “everyone keeps calm and perspective, we will proceed from there.”.

Political reactions

Trump's statements generated controversy because it is a conflict of decades.

Gavin Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, the largest party in Northern Ireland, who advocates maintaining union with Britain, reacted on their social networks by saying that “the constitutional future of Northern Ireland will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by comments made in London, Dublin or Washington.”.

President Trump knows better than most that elections matter. Northern Ireland’s constitutional future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington.

Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom because it is the established.. https://t.co/BozSTf93j9

— Gavin Robinson (@GRobinsonDUP) September 12, 2026

Sinn Féin, a political party that advocates the unification of Ireland, said that he approved the comments of the US President, although he made a point of remembering that the party does not support all Trump's positions.

“ President Trump’s comments on the issue of Irish unity are welcome, although we strongly disagree with him on many other issues,” he said.

Andy Burnham’s office, in response, referred to the statement he made last week, in which he claimed to support “the 100 percent” of the Good Friday Agreement and that the United Kingdom would only consider the possibility of holding a referendum “when public opinion had changed to the point where that possibility had to be taken into account”.

Memorandum for independence signed today

After the statements, however, the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland decided to meet on Monday in Cardiff, to sign a memorandum of understanding aimed at the independence of these british regions.

The meeting will bring together Welsh Prime Minister, Rhun ap Iorwerth, and Scottish counterparts, John Swinney, and Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill.

The joint declaration seeks to require London to grant them the right to hold referendums on their independence and regain powers.

Division in Ireland

Northern Ireland was divided between two communities: nationalists, mostly Catholics, who wanted union with the rest of Ireland, and the Unionists, especially Protestants, who wanted to remain British.

Tensions between the two factions were dragged by three decades of confrontation.

In 1998, a peace agreement put an end to the conflict, but left the final status of Northern Ireland undefined (keeping Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom but establishing that its future status can be decided by referendum if the majority so wishes).