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Robert Jenrick has hit back at Donald Trump’s calls for a united Ireland and said the US President should have “butted out” of British politics.
Reform UK’s treasury spokesman said Trump “shouldn’t have weighed into British politics” when he claimed Irish reunification was inevitable and it “may as well happen now”, during a visit to Dublin on Saturday.
Mr Jenrick told Sky News’s Sunday Morning programme: “If you’re referring to what he said about Ireland he was completely wrong.
“We’re a unionist party. The clue’s in the name, Reform UK, and we’ll always support the union.
“We firmly disagree with Donald Trump on this. He shouldn’t have weighed into British politics. Our borders are our borders. And Reform will always defend the United Kingdom.”
Donald Trump claimed Irish reunification was inevitable during his visit to Dublin (PA)
Angela Rayner brushed off Mr Trump’s comments, saying the UK remained committed to the Good Friday Agreement.
The Housing Secretary told Sky News: “Donald Trump is Donald Trump, and the president will say what and speak his mind as he sees it.
“But look, we’re really serious about the Good Friday Agreement.
“We’re very proud of our history there and working with Ireland to make sure that we implement the Good Friday Agreement and we continue on that path.”
During a visit to Dublin on Saturday, Mr Trump said he would “love” to see a united Ireland.
Speaking while sitting alongside Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the US president said: “Well, I don’t want to cause any problems, but I will tell you I’d love to see it unified.
“I have friends on both sides, great people. They’re Irish people. How can they be bad, right? I’d love to see it unified. I think it would be a great feather in everybody’s cap if that happened. It’s going to happen eventually.
“You know what? The way I look at it, it’s going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now.
Mr Trump during a meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Farmleigh House, Dublin (PA Wire)
“We’re talking about it and you got the right man over here to get it moving. But, yeah, I think it would be a fantastic thing.
“Now the UK will have something to say about it, obviously. But I think it would be a great thing. I mean, how can it be bad?”
The US President’s opinions triggered a major diplomatic row, with unionist leaders in Northern Ireland, members of Reform and the Conservative party all disagreeing with his view.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote on X: “Northern Ireland is a proud and integral part of the United Kingdom. The people of Northern Ireland neither want a referendum, nor unification. I disagree with President Trump.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Trump is “shooting from the hip as usual” and creating “unnecessary tension” following his comments on a united Ireland.
“This sort of loose talk about the future of democratic countries is deeply unhelpful and creates unnecessary tension. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom,” she wrote in a post on X.
Mr Trump gestures as he is welcomed by Ireland’s president Catherine Connolly at Áras an Uachtaráin in Phoenix Park in the Irish capital Dublin (AFP/Getty)
The shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland also said Mr Trump’s comments were “very wrong”.
Conservative MP Alex Burghart said: “Northern Ireland is an integral part of the United Kingdom. Kemi and the Conservatives will always stand up for the Union.
“We will build a stronger economy in every corner of the United Kingdom, creating jobs and opportunities and clearing up Labour’s mess.”
DUP leader Gavin Robinson said Northern Ireland’s future would be decided by its people, not “commentary in London, Dublin or Washington”.
Trump says goodbye to family members before boarding Air Force One as he departs from Shannon Airport, western Ireland (AFP/Getty)
He added: “As unionists, we are not interested in the destruction of our country by joining with the Irish Republic.”
Irish premier Micheál Martin said there had been an “overreaction” to the president’s remarks. While his views on a unified Ireland sparked controversy, Mr Trump’s decision to take tariffs off Irish whiskey was praised.
He said: “Everybody’s been bugging me. They are saying would you do me a favour? It’s so unfair what’s going on.
“Could you possibly take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey and I said, on behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey.”
Irish Open winner Shane Lowry has joked that Irish distillers should send him a cheque after Mr Trump’s tariff announcement.
Mr Trump chose to “say nothing” about Scottish independence, adding that he would “save that for another day”.
During his visit to Scotland in July last year, he suggested there should be a gap of a generation between independence referendums. However he said that he did not want to “get involved” in British domestic politics.