After 40 minutes of intense questioning alongside the most unpredictable of presidents, Martin was relieved to escape unscathed.
It was a bout he did not win but also did not lose – and his performance received a mixed response among some in the UK and Ireland.
In a post on X, former cabinet minister Rory Stewart praised Martin for speaking “fluently and diplomatically – while also standing up for values, peace and European allies”.
Former Irish Ambassador to the US Dan Mulhall told Irish national broadcaster RTÉ that the taoiseach fared “well” in not damaging the economic ties between Ireland and the US in the meeting.
“I think overall you could say, we got through a difficult day on a difficult course and the taoiseach came home fairly well, without any bruises on his body,” he said on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme.
Social Democrat leader Holly Cairns said the meeting between the Martin and Trump was a “missed opportunity”, saying the Irish leader was “almost entirely mute”.
Cairns said the only person Martin strongly defended was the UK’s prime minister as he “made a point of attempting to firmly rebuff some of Trump’s attacks on him”.
“However, when Trump mistakenly thought our own president was a man, Micheál Martin failed to correct the record,” she added.
She said inviting Trump to Ireland would be “outrageous” and that the Irish people “do not want a red carpet to be rolled out for an American president who is dismantling international law and institutions”.
Sinn Féin, who boycotted events in the White House last year and again this year, said Martin “wasted a unique opportunity” to defend international law.
“Instead, he stayed silent on the need to respect international law, failed to mention the ongoing genocide in Gaza or the United States’ and Israel’s attacks on Iranian civilians,” said Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire.