US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has praised Conor McGregor but said that Taoiseach Micheál Martin was “better off not knowing” comedian Rosie O’Donnell. 

Trump and Martin answered wide-ranging questions from both US and Irish media in the Oval Office of the White House this afternoon.

An American reporter told Trump that “Ireland is known for very happy, fun-loving people” who have a “great attitude”.

The reporter then said: “Why in the world would you let Rosie O’Donnell move to Ireland? I think she’s going to lower your happiness level. ”

American Comedian Rosie O’Donnell yesterday revealed that she moved to Ireland in January to escape the “cruelty” of Trump’s administration. 

O’Donnell made the announcement in a nine-minute video posted to TikTok in which she said she has been here since 15 January, before thanking the “loving and kind” Irish people for their “warm” welcome.

File image of Rosie O'Donnell Alamy Alamy

She also said she is in the process of applying for Irish citizenship for which she qualifies through her grandparents.

Trump thanked the reporter and said he liked the line of questioning.

O’Donnell has an almost two-decade-long feud with Trump, which began in 2006 when she attacked his history of infidelity, to which Trump responded by calling her a “real loser”.

The most high-profile flashpoint in the pair’s dispute was during a Republican primary debate ahead of the 2016 US Election, when Trump was asked by moderator Megyn Kelly about comments Trump previously made labelling some women as “fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals”.

Trump said “only Rosie O’Donnell” as Kelly continued to list a slew of other insults directed at women in the past.

Martin however didn’t appear to know who O’Donnell is, at which point Trump said: “You’re better off not knowing.”

And while Trump continued his feud with O’Donnell, he was full of praise for Conor McGregor.

In November last year, McGregor was deemed liable for sexually assaulting Nikita Hand in the Beacon Hotel on 9 December 2018, with the jury in the case awarding Hand over €248,000 in damages.

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“I do happen to like your fighter,” Trump said in reference to McGregor. 

“He’s got the best tattoos I’ve ever seen. Conor’s great, right?”

Trump then added that Ireland has “a lot of great fighters” and that it’s due to the Irish being “tough, smart, passionate people”.

Trump then remarked that Martin’s father was a “great fighter”.

Martin’s father, Paddy Martin, died in 2012 and was a well-known boxer who represented Ireland at amateur level.

In response, Martin said his father was a “very good defensive boxer” who boxed some “very good guys” and fought for Ireland. 

Trump joked that he wasn’t “going to mess around” with Martin given his fighting “genetics”.