Trump’s United Ireland Dream Would Save Erie, Destroy England

President Donald J. Trump made a triumphant trip to Ireland, where he watched the Amgen Irish Open, played at his Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Ireland, and, along his travels in the Old Sod, called for Ireland to be reunited—which would be a political earthquake for both the United Kingdom and the Republic itself.

The British Parliament’s 1920 Government of Ireland Act created two Irelands. One was the 26 southern counties, first as the Irish Free State, then the Republic of Ireland. The remaining six counties were constituted as Northern Ireland—part of the United Kingdom.

Michael Collins, the great Irish revolutionary, was killed by other Irish patriots in 1922 for his role in negotiating and supporting the partition treaty, which accepted that part of Ireland would not be free.

More than 100 years after the partition, Northern Ireland has secured some autonomy, but its members of Parliament have become extremely influential, joining the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition from 2010 to 2015 and supporting a minority Tory government in 2017.

The loss of those conservative Northern Ireland MPs could mean the difference between a conservative government, Tory or Reform, and the Labour Party, dead-set on sending the country into ruin.

If and when Northern Ireland leaves the United Kingdom, the political balance would shift in the Republic to the right, aiding the rising conservative movement in Ireland and removing those dependable conservative votes from the British Parliament.

Sitting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin Saturday at Dublin’s Farmleigh House, the president broke with an old taboo and weighed in on the question.

“Well, I don’t want to cause any problems, but I will tell you I’d love to see it unified,” the president said. “I have friends on both sides, great people. They’re Irish people. How can they be bad, right?”

Trump had the opportunity to walk back his comments at the U.S. ambassador’s residence and again Sunday at his golf course. Both times, he repeated his sentiment. A reporter told the president Sunday that British Prime Minister Andrew M. Burnham did not think there was public support for the referendum that was part of the 1998 Good Friday Accords. Trump was unfazed.

“Everybody says that and then things happen.”

Britain’s The Telegraph newspaper reported Trump had told both Martin and Irish President Catherine Connolly he supported bringing the 32 Irish counties together—even before he mentioned it to reporters.

A united Ireland would put to rest the centuries-old Catholic vs. Unionist divide so that the natural affinities would emerge as the nationalist ones fade.

In the 2024 general election, the Independent Ireland party and Aontú garnered roughly 7.5 percent of the vote, while unaffiliated candidates received 13 percent of the vote. If one combines half the independents with the conservatives, you can safely put the conservative vote at 15 percent.

Like the leftist Sinn Féin party, Aontú competes as a cross-border party, so its northern voters would join with the North’s other conservative parties: the Democratic Unionist Party, Traditional Unionist Voice and the Ulster Unionist Party.

The new combined conservative bloc could reach 21 percent of the electorate, which, in a parliamentary election, could produce 50 to 55 seats in the 250-seat Dáil, making it competitive with Sinn Féin and the moderate Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parties—putting conservatives within reach of forming and leading a coalition government.

It would be a wonderful turn of events if culturally conservative Ireland were once again governed by parties aligned with the people against corporations and established interests—and to think, it all kicked off because Trump wanted to watch some golf.

Neil W. McCabe is a Washington-based journalist and media consultant covering national politics. He retired from the Army Reserve as a senior public affairs NCO and received a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq as a combat historian. Follow him: @ReporterMcCabe.