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LAST UPDATE | 13 Mar
A COMMONLY SHARED, instant reaction to the long-awaited Oval Office bilateral meeting of the 45th and 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, and An Taoiseach Micheál Martin was that Ireland dodged a bullet. And that is a perfectly justifiable assessment.
Ireland’s citizenry had collectively viewed the annual confab, something that countries of varying sizes around the world would give nearly anything for, with a mounting sense of trepidation after the unfortunate slap-down that besieged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received from Trump and his loyal deputy, JD Vance, recently in the White House.
On the other hand, there was no gun and there were no bullets – at least not on this occasion. Despite his laments at what he sees as a grossly imbalanced transatlantic trading relationship and reaffirmed his intention to “fix” it, President Trump frequently returned to talking in glowing, if characteristically meandering, terms about this island, where he owns property and evidently is positively predisposed to.
That he and Vance were not on a “war footing” was apparent from the breakfast held at the US Naval Observatory. As an aside, it was an encouraging sign that the early morning, new-ish tradition was maintained.
The Hillbilly Elegy author commented that we are “steadfast” friends and jokingly referred to “sock diplomacy” as he showed off his own shamrock-adorned pair. His wife Usha got to wear her green trousers. Vance’s easy, affable manner contrasted diametrically with his simultaneously aggressive and dismissive attitude toward President Zelenskyy.
Micheál Martin warrants tremendous credit for how he comported himself and represented his country. From the off, his short remarks delivered following the vice-president’s introduction were spot on. He was careful to stress the sacred bond between Ireland and the US and all that it has meant to millions here and there.
Moreover, it was shrewd to refer to the Scots and the Irish together – part of one indistinguishable Celtic family in the eyes of many Americans – because Vance identifies as Scots-Irish and Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was a native Scottish Gaelic speaker from the Outer Hebrides. Yes, all politics is local. Yet to this duo especially, all politics is personal.
In the Oval Office, when the pressure and media glare were really on, the Taoiseach’s decades of experience in politics and foreign affairs shone through. In a similar fashion as veteran operative James Carville is recommending that his fellow Democrats let President Trump spin himself out, Martin wisely allowed his host to go on at length without interruption on the various internal and external matters raised by American journalists, even where the commander-in-chief’s utterances were hugely exaggerated or directly at odds with the popular mood at home.
That said, the Taoiseach made a couple of important interventions. In the first, he cited the Irish experience of violence and the human toll thereof, and ultimately the resolution of conflict. Although his government and the Trump administration may not be on the same page – to phrase it euphemistically – when it comes to the conditions of peace and how it is arrived at in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere, he cleverly framed it that Ireland and the US are united in the pursuit of peace and praised the president’s efforts on this front. Trump could not disagree or take offence.
And on trade, the proud Corkman politely, not unduly robustly, mentioned that investment is a two way street, pointing to the examples of Ryanair purchasing Boeing planes in bulk and to Eli Lilly in the pharma industry. As he elaborated on the latter, “there’s room for these companies to grow in America and many have announced very significant investments in the US… such as Eli Lilly. Ireland has served them well, too.” Trump responded that its CEO was a “great guy.” This good feeling might have surfaced in Martin’s preparations and thereby rendered Eli Lilly an optimal entity to bring up.
There was also an element of flattery with respect to how “beautiful” Doonbeg, President Trump’s golf course in Co Clare, is. “I think you’re the only US president who has actually physically invested in Ireland,” he opined. This may be attacked as overly ingratiating or obsequious language. Fair enough. It is nonetheless a vital component of doing business with this improbable and unusual president.
And to be sure, the Taoiseach’s critics are already out in force. He did not assert that a clear majority of Irish people think that Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza or are aggrieved that the US seems to be cosying up to a murderous dictator like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and abandoning Ukraine in the process. Additionally, some charge that he did not do the European Union any favours by keeping quiet as Trump launched the now familiar salvos against what he deems an organisation established to “screw the US.”
Their objections notwithstanding, what possible benefit could emerge from Micheál Martin refuting Donald Trump – either for Ireland or for the EU – in this setting? I fail to see it. And I can envisage the myriad, far-reaching negative consequences of a confrontation. It merits repeating: we live in the world as it is, not as we might wish it were.
Obviously, we should not harbour illusions. Ireland (and Europe) is still very much exposed and potentially in the firing line, as an unrepentantly America First president reiterated on an atypical St Patrick’s Day celebration of our enduring ties. There is an arduous and unpredictable road ahead. But in sum, all things considered, today was a pretty good one.
Larry Donnelly is a Boston lawyer, a Law Lecturer at the University of Galway and a political columnist with TheJournal.ie.
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