Taoiseach's White House agenda: Micheal Martin faces high-pressure meeting with 'unpredictable' Donald Trump

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will finally get to the White House today to meet US President Donald Trump for one of the most high-stakes meetings we have ever seen between Irish and US leaders. Given the growing uncertainty in the world, the Fianna Fáil leader could be in for a night of tossing and turning ahead of his bilateral meeting with the unpredictable and sometimes volatile president.

This will be the third time lucky for Mr Martin. In 2021, the traditional White House visit for St Patrick’s Day was cancelled due to the pandemic. In 2022, Mr Martin was dramatically diagnosed with COVID-19 at the $1,000 a plate Ireland Funds dinner and had to be beamed into the Oval Office via Zoom from Blair House, the President’s guest house just a stone’s throw away from the White House

Everything has changed drastically since Mr Martin was last in DC in 2022 as Taoiseach. Perhaps the biggest difference will be the change of personnel in the White House.

Joe Biden, the self-proclaimed son of Ireland, is no longer the President of the United States. Donald Trump is well and truly back, bringing back uncertainty and volatility to the White House.

Mr Martin’s day will start on Wednesday with a breakfast with Vice President JD Vance in the Naval Observatory. As he has shown since his inauguration seven weeks ago, the VP can be spikey and not one to hold his tongue.

At the Munich Security Conference, he roundly attacked Europe and criticised its measures regarding disinformation and for ignoring concerns about migration and free speech. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in the Oval Office, Mr Vance poured fuel on the fire by instigating a row that will go down in history.

The VP’s breakfast consists of set pieces and speeches. It will start with Mr Vance and his wife, Usha, greeting Mr Martin and his wife, Mary, outside for photographs. What Mr Vance will say inside could set the tone for the entire day, potentially plunging it into disarray and bedlam.

The bilateral meeting in the Oval Office will get underway around 3pm Irish time on Wednesday. The Taoiseach has said he will talk to President Trump about several issues, but some topics of conversation will be easier than others.

Mr Trump is fond of Ireland, as the Government insists. It is now widely expected that he could be offered a visit to the Ryder Cup, which will take place in Adare in 2027.

The Taoiseach will also be the first visitor Mr Trump has had since he met with President Zelenskyy. The situation between the US, Russia and Ukraine is on a knife edge and as talks continue in Saudi Arabia, it is hard to know what will have happened by Wednesday.

Mr Martin will have to represent the EU, who last week announced its ongoing support for Ukraine against Russian aggression. He will also have to be the EU voice on tariffs. Although Mr Trump has repeatedly introduced and paused tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, he has threatened 25% tariffs on EU goods and has yet to back down.

The Irish Government has more to lose than many other countries here. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has repeatedly discussed the trade imbalance between the US and Ireland.

The fact it was contained in a US-issued readout of a phone call between Tánaiste Simon Harris and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has led some in Government to believe the Taoiseach will be tackled on it by Trump.

The other thing he could be tackled on is Ireland’s support for Gaza. As an ally of Israel, Mr Trump has made several outlandish comments about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, including the prospect of moving Palestinians out of their homes and the US taking control of Gaza to turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

The Government has committed to introducing the Occupied Territories Bill, which would forbid goods from illegal Israeli settlements.

Then, you have the banana skins. The things Mr Martin may not see coming that could trip him up. And, given what we have seen over the last seven weeks, President Trump could say just about anything.

Following more speeches at the Speaker’s Lunch at Capitol Hill, Mr Martin will return to the White House at 9pm Irish time to hand over the bowl of Shamrock. There will be even more remarks here, giving Mr Martin a chance to address Mr Trump and the world at large.

More than ever, the world's eyes will be on Mr Martin’s trip to the White House.

We will only find out if he can live up to that pressure today.

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