WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump greeted Taoiseach of Ireland Micheál Martin at the White House on Wednesday, where they sat down for an Oval Office meeting alongside Vice President JD Vance.
Trump greeted Martin at the West Wing entrance with a handshake and shoulder tap before they headed to the Oval Office.
Trump called it “a great honor to have” Martin visit and quipped about Martin returning to his leadership position after serving as Taoiseach from 2020-2022.
“He did it the hard way also. He served and then took a little time off, and then he served again. I’ve heard about that; that happens on occasion,” Trump said, making an indirect reference to his own election wins in non-consecutive terms and drawing laughs.
“We knew each other from a long time ago, but it’s a great honor to have you in the Oval Office and have you at the White House,” he added.
Trump also spoke about the business relationship between Ireland and America.
“We have tremendous business relationships with Ireland, and that will only get stronger. The relationship we have, personally and every other way, is very, very strong,” he said.
Martin expressed his gratitude to Trump for hosting him and applauded his push for peace.
“Thank you for your hospitality and the warmth of your reception, and I commend you in terms of the work that you are doing, particularly in terms of the pursuit of peace, which we discussed earlier,” Martin told Trump. “I think that’s going well.”
“And you really have in the first sort of hundred days of this government, you’ve done some extraordinary things very quickly,” he added.
The meeting came shortly after Martin attended a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast that Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance hosted at the Vice President’s Residence.
“One of the things that we try to do with this breakfast is remind people of the important bonds of friendship between the United States and Ireland,” Vance said during his remarks.
Martin will also join Trump for a St. Patrick’s Day reception at the White House later in the day.
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