Trump might reportedly skip his Ireland trip because its prime minister won't meet at his golf course
President Trump apparently prefers golf courses to castles.
While it hasn't been publicly announced, Trump has considered stopping in Ireland between his June visits to Britain and France and meeting with its Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Yet the prime minister has so far refused to meet at Trump's requested golf course venue, and it has led Trump to consider skipping the visit altogether, The Irish Times reports.
When discussions first started between the U.S. and Irish governments, Varadkar said he'd like to meet Trump in the western County Clare's Dromoland Castle, sources in Dublin tell The Irish Times. But Trump apparently noticed that's just a short drive away from his Doonbeg golf club, and requested that the two leaders meet there. The Irish government has still pressed for the original hotel location, leading Trump to consider bowing out of the meeting and heading to Scotland instead, a White House source says.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Varadkar has publicly disagreed with Trump on a number of issues, and recently struggled to find any overlap in their policy preferences. Varadkar also affirmed Thursday that during the yet-unscheduled visit, protests would be "allowed" and "welcome" because "peaceful protest is part of democracy," per The Irish Times. The manager of Dromoland Castle, now a hotel, says the U.S. and Irish governments have checked out the space for a possible visit, but oddly hadn't booked anything for a trip presumably just a month away.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
The 8 best spy movies of all timethe week recommends Excellence in espionage didn’t begin — or end — with the Cold War
-
Why scientists want to create self-fertilizing cropsUnder the radar Nutrients without the negatives
-
Are pesticides making florists sick?Under the Radar Shop-bought bouquets hide a cocktail of chemicals
-
Why is Trump threatening defense firms?Talking Points CEO pay and stock buybacks will be restricted
-
‘The security implications are harder still to dismiss’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Judge clears wind farm construction to resumeSpeed Read The Trump administration had ordered the farm shuttered in December over national security issues
-
Trump DOJ targets Fed’s Powell, drawing pushbackSpeed Read Powell called the investigation ‘unprecedented’
-
What are Donald Trump’s options in Iran?Today's Big Question Military strikes? Regime overthrow? Cyberattacks? Sanctions? How can the US help Iranian protesters?
-
Maduro’s capture: two hours that shook the worldTalking Point Evoking memories of the US assault on Panama in 1989, the manoeuvre is being described as the fastest regime change in history
-
Trump’s power grab: the start of a new world order?Talking Point Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the US president has shown that arguably power, not ‘international law’, is the ultimate guarantor of security
-
A running list of everything Trump has named or renamed after himselfIn Depth The Kennedy Center is the latest thing to be slapped with Trump’s name
