Last week, former Fox host Tucker Carlson touched down in Dublin to interview Conor McGregor. For the Irish immigration-skeptics, it was something between a galvanizing moment and an excuse to drink free beer on a Tuesday. For Carlson, it was another spicy interview with an ‘underrepresented underdog’. For McGregor, it was a formal launch of his political fundraising efforts, albeit with no indication as to how he will spend the money raised.
Conor McGregor positioned himself as a rags-to-riches, family-oriented patriot. His breathy, incoherent speech had a cult-of-a-leader cadence to it, especially when referring to Irish people as “my citizens”. Carlson claimed that McGregor had “very evolved political views” and apparently did not mean it as a joke. Yet McGregor’s biggest flaw was not F-bombs or his unkempt jacket collar. His biggest flaw is that he has no understanding of the political arena into which he is stepping. He may benefit from American ignorance for a while. But the long-term effects of his ineptitude could destroy the anti-establishment movement before it starts.
McGregor on the issues
It would be inaccurate to claim that the interview was an hour of Conor McGregor telling lies. A more accurate appraisal is that McGregor is so ignorant of the issues that he unwittingly misleads his listeners every time he opens his mouth. Many of the problems he correctly diagnosed were accompanied with such inaccurate evidence as to undermine them.
Immigration
McGregor claimed that mass-immigration was a deliberate attempt to replace the native Irish people. There is precedent here. The plantations were a political ploy to replace the native population. Yet McGregor’s solution to it is to “deport illegal immigrants”. But most of the immigrants in Ireland are there legally. The problem is how liberal immigration laws are, not that individuals are skirting the law. Deportations are on the rise – as they should be – but the mass movement into the country is largely legal refugees. The solution, therefore, is not mass deportations but legislative reform.
Prisons
Similarly, McGregor claimed he could solve the problem of overcrowded prisons by deporting any illegal immigrants imprisoned in Ireland. Yet he neglected to mention how many illegal immigrants are currently sitting in Irish prisons. As of February of this year, only 36 inmates have been imprisoned for immigration-related offenses. If McGregor plans to deport 36 individuals, it will be difficult to see any effect in society.
Decline of the family
McGregor claimed that the cost of living crisis in Ireland has destroyed the Irish family. As Carlson lamented the disappearance of the ‘Irish family of 12’, McGregor blamed the economy. Two glaring mistakes are evident here. First, when Ireland typically had the large families for which it is known in the US, the population had far less spending power than the present day. Second, Ireland’s fertility rate has been in freefall since 1970. In fact, 1987 was the last year where Ireland’s fertility rate (2.32) was above the replacement rate (2.2). It is currently at 1.5. Ireland’s fertility rate is negatively correlated with its economy by all available data.
Police state
Another wild overstatement by McGregor was the effect of the traffic police in Ireland. The correct diagnosis here is that Ireland is heavily over-regulated. Yet McGregor claimed that the traffic corp was an armed force that destroys families and causes suicides. Certainly, reports have come to light in recent weeks of refugees in Ireland receiving transport-related handouts from the Government. However, for McGregor to claim that this is equivalent to an armed force driving innocent Irish people to kill themselves is somewhat misleading.
President Conor McGregor
Unsurprisingly, Carlson asked McGregor about his Presidential run. Washington is agog at the rise of ‘Ireland’s Trump’. Like McGregor, Americans are unaware that the Irish President is a powerless figurehead. McGregor claimed the nomination process is undemocratic. But most people would consider the cost of running for office in the US is more inhibitive to “true democracy” than meeting an exceptionally low bar of 20 signatures from Ireland’s legislature. Carlson asked McGregor why everyone “hates” him, as though it was a mystery. To conduct an hour-long interview with McGregor without mentioning the effect of the Nikita Hand lawsuit is irresponsible. McGregor will not be nominated for office this year because he is a toxic brand. The US equivalent is not Donald Trump. It’s Ted Kaczynski.
Positioning McGregor
Overall, the interview shed a lot of light on McGregor’s positioning in his post-sport career. Despite his massive wealth, McGregor leans into his working class background. McGregor delights Americans, seeing him as the caricature of Ireland they grew up hearing about: loud-mouthed, charismatic, and a brewer of stout. “Ireland first” piqued Carlson’s isolationist interest. The gaping hole in the logic, however, is that the US is probably the only country that could be self-sustainable. Ireland is so globally dependent that its entire economy hinges on a handful of American companies using it as a tax haven. In fact, prior to opening itself to global markets, Ireland was a third-world country with 120 successive years of population decline. McGregor extended his Ireland First hypocrisy to criticizing his alcohol competitors. He berated Guinness for being an ‘English company’. Of course, McGregor’s whiskey partner, Proximo Spirits, is an American company in New Jersey. It seems the pot still is calling the keg a pint of the black stuff.
Overall, the interview was positive for everyone. Carlson got the cache of interviewing America’s favorite Irishman. McGregor got a platform to express his views and appeal to Irish-American donors. Irish immigration-skeptics got their views heard on the international stage. But most importantly, McGregor’s detractors can put the ‘McGregor Problem’ to rest. No serious person could watch the interview and think he can lead Ireland out of its mess. McGregor has joined the growing list of failed opposition in Ireland.
