According to Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris, the current US president has invited the Taoiseach of the day to the White House on a “annual basis” for decades, and he “would expect it to happen again” this year, reports RTE.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin responded that the invitation was ultimately a “matter for the White House” when asked if the Government had received an invitation to attend the yearly event.
Meeting US President Donald Trump would be part of a trip to the White House, reports RTE.
Nearly 80 nations, including Ireland, have denounced Mr. Trump’s threat of placing tariffs on many nations and his sanctions on the International Criminal Court.
Mr. Harris stated that he “would expect” the invitation to be sent for the visit to take place, even in the face of persistent diplomatic problems, reports RTE.
The Tánaiste stated that he planned to travel to the United States concurrently with the Taoiseach’s rumoured White House visit during an interview with RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne. However, he clarified that he would be travelling to a “different location” than the Taoiseach.
“Congratulating him on his appointment” is what Mr. Harris claimed to have written to his US colleague, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reports RTE.
It coincides with opposition MPs calling on the government to abstain from the yearly St. Patrick’s Day visit to the White House.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said: “No Irish politician should go to Washington to meet Donald Trump or his administration on St Patrick’s Day. To do so would be to provide political cover to a US regime that is intent on inflicting even more barbaric treatment on the 2 million people of Gaza”, reports RTE.
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