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HOW SHOULD MICHEÁL Martin handle his meeting with US president Donald Trump on Tuesday?
There are two schools of thought, depending on who you ask.
Some believe the Taoiseach should go in there, speak truth to power and put forward the Irish peoples’ views on such issues such as Iran and Gaza.
Others think he should go into the Oval Office, keep the head down, don’t poke the bear and don’t put Irish interests, such as jobs, at risk.
There are also critics who don’t believe he should even be going to the White House at all this St Patrick’s Day.
Whichever strategy Martin opts for in the White House this year, he’s likely to irk one group or another.
As someone who has been in the Oval Office for the visit of three taoisigh for St Patrick’s Day (Enda Kenny, Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin), it’s fair to say that each has taken a different approach.
Kenny was one of the first foreign dignitaries to meet with Trump after he was elected to his first term of US president.
Just like today, there were lots of calls for him not to go through with the St Patrick’s Day tradition at the White House.
Ahead of his visit, there was also a lot of focus on comments Kenny made when he described remarks made by Trump as both “racist and dangerous”.
He later said he didn’t regret saying such a thing, despite those comments being mentioned by a reporter in the Oval Office when Kenny was seated next to Trump.
At the time, there was lots of talk about the US president’s ambitions to build a wall to stop migrants from entering America.
Kenny spoke at length about Irish immigration during his visit, using the opportunity speak at length about the contribution of the Irish community in the United States.
He was praised for his speech at the shamrock ceremony, with The New York Times calling it a “lecture” for President Trump on immigration.
The clip of the speech, where Kenny referred to St Patrick as the patron saint of immigrants, went viral.
Kenny largely kept schtum in front of the media in the Oval Office, but used the shamrock ceremony speech to give a subtly veiled, yet clear message.
It is a strategy that other taoisigh have used since.
Leo Varadkar, on his last visit to the White House before he announced he was stepping down as Taoiseach, used the shamrock ceremony speech to make it very clear where the Irish public stood when it came to Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of Gaza.
In 2024, standing next to US President Joe Biden, he said the Irish people were “deeply troubled” about the catastrophe that is unfolding in Gaza.
Varadkar, as he indicated to reporters earlier that day, mentioned the situation in Gaza in his speech, stating:
I believe it’s possible to be for Israel and Palestine. And I believe you do too.
He said Ireland sees its own history in that of the Palestinians and of the Israelis.
Varadkar has since said that it was while he was in the US that he had made up his mind about stepping back from politics. Perhaps that is why he felt he could be more forthright in his remarks as he was leaving the political stage and had nothing to lose.
A few years earlier, when Varadkar first met Trump he was a younger politician, at just 38 years of age and seated next to the US president, he was quick to point out to Trump how far he himself had come.
“I was telling President Trump that I was here before when I was a Congressional intern back in 2000 – but they didn’t let me in the Oval Office,” said Varadkar.
“And now we do. You’ve made great progress,” replied Trump. On that visit, the approach appeared to be chatty flattery.
Playbook
Martin could take a leaf out of the shamrock ceremony speech playbook, and make some more pointed comments about aspects that the Irish public are uneasy about.
With Trump standing in front of hundreds of invited attendees, there’s little he can do if the remarks rub him up the wrong way.
There’s nothing stopping the Taoiseach from speaking in a direct manner with Trump behind closed doors during their 10-minute tete-e-tete.
Speaking to The Journal in 2018, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern recounted how during his time there too were sensitive subjects to discuss.
“I was there around the time of the Iraq war and at the time there was a Dáil motion on it, so I raised that.
“You wouldn’t raise an issue for the sake of raising it,” said Ahern. Often, officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs would make the case for a particular issue to be raised.
The build up to the war and speculation that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction was high on the international agenda at the time, back in 2003.
“I remember just asking the President how sure he was that the threat was true. I think he was surprised that I asked him in such a straightforward way,” said Ahern.
Bush, he recalled, gave him his assessment of the current US intelligence and the administration’s reasoning behind going to war (that analysis, as we now know, turned out to be well wide of the mark).
So there’s form there for a Taoiseach to raise a contentious foreign policy issue with the US president.
Last year, when Martin met with Trump in the Oval Office, he was notably nervous.
Just a few weeks earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskkyy was given a public dressing down both by Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Martin was criticised for laughing at points where the housing crisis was mentioned, but overall he was praised for getting in and out of the Oval Office without causing any major diplomatic incident.
He may well go for the same approach, sit on his hands, talk about the importance of the US-Irish relations, and hope there are no serious ramifications or major faux pas.
Other options
Or he could look to how some other world leaders and defence chiefs have handled their meetings with Trump.
NATO Chief Mark Rutte sent a gushing text to Trump ahead of a major summit in the Netherlands. “Mr President, dear Donald,” the message began, segueing into a heartfelt congratulations and thanks for Trump’s “decisive action in Iran”.
On the flipside, is how Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney handled his first meeting with his near neighbour.
Seated next to him in the Oval Office, Carney told the US president that Canada was not for sale.
Among Trump’s policies on Canada is his desire to see the country become the 51st state. Last year, Carney also stated that the deep ties between Canada and the United States “is over”.
Then there is UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who tried flattery on the newly elected president when he met with Trump last year. He presented him with a letter from King Charles, asking him to visit the UK for another state visit.
Such flattery did not pay off long-term.
Since the outset of war in the Middle East, Trump has repeatedly expressed his frustration at Starmer after he refused a US request to use UK bases for initial offensive strikes against Iran.
Trump said he was “not happy with the UK”, adding that the UK prime minister was “no Winston Churchill”.
There are plenty of people who believe the Irish government should cease to allow the US use Shannon Airport, but Martin is unlikely to make such a bold move for fear of facing the same wrath Starmer has
This year’s visit, there is a difficult line for Martin to walk. He won’t want to put Ireland in the firing line, but he also won’t want to look meek back home.
As stated, there is precedent by former taoisigh to question the US president on geopolitical decisions – but there’s a view that perhaps Trump isn’t your normal president.
There is uncertainty on how he’ll react to any perceived challenge to his authority.
It’s unclear where the Taoiseach might draw inspiration from when it comes to his encounters with Trump. Regardless of the approach he takes, he’ll leave someone unhappy.
Whatever way you look at it, it is a lose-lose situation for the Taoiseach, but all eyes will be on him to see how he navigates it next Tuesday.
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