Micheál Martin visited Donald Trump in the White House yesterday. It was a hotly anticipated encounter after the growing potential for tensions between the two long-time allies. I wrote a piece two weeks ago outlining how the Taoiseach should approach the visit. Let’s see how well he performed in Washington yesterday.
Martin Charm Offensive
In my previous piece, I strongly suggested Micheál Martin take Keir Starmer’s lead by inviting Trump to Ireland. Martin did not hand over a letter like Starmer did, but the invitation was well-received nevertheless. In fact, a formal invitation from a cantankerous, Iranophile old leprechaun likely would not have landed as well as one from an actual king. With friendly exchanges between JD Vance and Martin over breakfast, the Taoiseach started the day well. Granted, the Vice President’s decision to wear shamrock socks was a good indicator that the Administration had no intention of being confrontational yesterday. Trump’s Doonbeg property is a strong diplomatic asset for Ireland. As I previously advised, Martin came in early and often with references to the property. Trump joined in on the fun, using it to illustrate how Ireland makes investment easier than the EU. Martin was well-prepared for the visit and started on a strong (shamrock-socked) foot with both Trump and Vance.
Trade
Ireland’s trade surplus with the US is a topic of contention with the new Administration. As I pointed out, Micheál Martin needed to counter these talking points with an emphasis on Irish investment in the US. Martin leaned in quite heavily here, explaining the investments from Ryanair and Aercap quite clearly. Trump zeroed in on Ireland’s pharmaceutical base, pledging to win it back while lauding Ireland for taking advantage of previous US leaders. Confident that it would take more than a reduced tax rate to entice Big Pharma away from the Emerald Isle, Martin stayed quiet.
The EU
The Taoiseach wisely played down Ireland’s association with the EU. Trump’s outside perspective compares the EU with the US Deep State: a sprawling bureaucracy intent on seeing the decline of the US. Without putting a foot wrong unnecessarily with the EU, Martin graciously accepted the complimentary comparisons with the Union. Furthermore, he jumped at the opportunity to point out that Ireland fought alongside Apple in the lawsuit Trump chided. Needless to say, he did not correct the President, who claimed the €17bn went to the EU. That money, of course, is mostly sitting in Ireland’s Rainy Day Fund, awaiting the worst suggestions for domestic capital expenditure. This anti-EU sentiment went further than the conversation with the Taoiseach. This morning, Trump announced 200% tariffs on EU alcohol, ostensibly to help America’s “Champagne business”. Evidently, Macron could take notes from Micheál Martin on how to conduct a White House visit.
Martin and Peace
Geopolitics was always going to be the biggest hurdle for Micheál Martin to jump. Amid incessant virtue signalling against Israel over the last year and a half – much of which led by the Taoiseach himself – Ireland was exposed here going into the meeting. In a stroke of good fortune, Martin entered the meeting armed with the news of a conditional ceasefire in Ukraine from the night before. I previously suggested that Ireland’s positions on the wars be framed as pro-peace, rather than partisan. Martin used Trump’s success to frame every talking point. The focus on ending the killing in Ukraine, freeing the hostages in Gaza, and a long-time support for a Two-State Solution overlapped both countries’ often opposite stances. Trump, not known for his in-depth interest in Irish student union politics, seemed happy with this overlap.
Criticism of Martin
Detractorswere out in force, urging Martin to lecture Trump on geopolitical issues he undoubtedly knows more about than anyone in the Dublin establishment. The Sinn Féin boycott, rather embarrassingly, made zero impact. Trump’s complete obliviousness to the fact that anyone was missing is, perhaps, telling of how inconsequential the party is for transatlantic cooperation. Given that the Democrats were away from DC at an Issues Conference yesterday, we can expect Mary Lou McDonald to make the trip later in the year when there are politicians available to meet.
A strong start
Micheál Martin has struggled as Taoiseach so far. He assumed the office by staying silent during the election and negotiating an unnecessarily bad deal with Fine Gael and the Regional Independents. Yet yesterday’s performance shows a sharp contrast with Simon Harris. Martin is a diplomat. Assuming he did not read Political Strategy ahead of the visit, we can assume that he is deftly able to read the diplomatic tension in a room and emerge unscathed. In short, Martin did an excellent job and Irish-American interests are safe at least until Harris becomes Taoiseach.
