President Trump’s comments on Ireland’s possible constitutional future grabbed the headlines at the weekend.
But it is his war on Iran which is having a practical impact on people across the island as energy prices climb again.
A barrel of oil, on the widely used Brent crude measurement, has started this week at $108.
That is a four-month high and close to the level reached in the early stage of the conflict, when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and reduced the amount of oil reaching world markets.
Some oil tankers are now moving through that important sea route but the latest price rise reflects a new front in the conflict.
A pipeline from Saudi Arabia which carries oil overland to ports on the Red Sea has been damaged in a drone strike and is closed for repairs.
Anything which forces up the price of oil is felt more quickly in Northern Ireland than anywhere else in Europe due to its heavy reliance on home heating oil.
Around two thirds of NI households use home heating oil.
Unlike gas or electricity the heating oil market is unregulated, so global price rises are rapidly passed through to consumers.