Last Friday morning, Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced he had received an invitation from Donald Trump to the White House for the annual St Patrick’s day celebrations. Mr Martin said he was “delighted” to receive the invite and that he was looking forward to the meeting.
Within hours, this delight and excitement was replaced with anticipation, dread and concern after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s meeting the US president, and vice-president JD Vance, descended into an angry shouting match. This unprecedented Oval Office encounter left US-Ukraine ties in tatters.
While the Taoiseach’s meeting Mr Trump is highly unlikely to be as combative as last Friday’s showdown, the Taoiseach must carefully prepare for several potential political landmines during this year’s Shamrock ceremony.
How are Mr Martin and his advisers preparing for his visit to the Oval office, in light of last week’s events? How should the Taoiseach respond if questions around support for Ukraine or Ireland’s recognition of the State of Palestine come up?
And what can Mr Martin learn from the US president’s two other bilateral meetings last week – with French president Emanuel Macron and British prime ministerKeir Starmer.
Today, on In The News, how can Micheál Martin prepare for his White House visit after last week’s extraordinary press conference?
Journalist, entrepreneur and former RTÉ Washington Correspondent Mark Little joins the podcast.
Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.
