Trump receives Irish Prime Minister, Micheál Martin: ‘There's a massive deficit that we have with Ireland’

President Donald Trump hosted Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday as part of the annual St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

After touching on topics such as the new Irish life of Rosie O'Donnell (who left the US over Trump's victory), fighter Conor McGregor's tattoos and JD Vance's shamrock stockings, the conversation traversed thornier terrain such as the return of companies that left American soil for Ireland.

"We do have a massive deficit with Ireland because Ireland was very smart, they took our pharmaceutical companies away from presidents that didn't know what they were doing," Trump said. By offering favorable tax regimes, "they made it very good for companies to move over there." Thus, he claimed, they got "the entire US pharmaceutical sector."

He didn't blame Ireland, though, but rather American leaders. "I have property in Ireland, I love it, it does great." He also lashed out at the European Union, a bloc made up of the visiting country. "The EU was set up to take advantage of the US," he went so far as to say.

"It's a two way street," Martin retorted, "and we are investing a lot more in America now." Ryanair and AerCap, he said, buy more aircraft from US manufacturer Boeing than any other company outside the United States. "That's a little known fact."

There are seven hundred Irish companies creating jobs in the country, he added. "I understand where you're coming from completely, but I think its a relationship that can endure," he told Trump.

But the Republican leader insisted: "There's a massive deficit that we have with Ireland."

War in Gaza

Just months after taking office again, the Taoiseach had to respond on their differences over the war in Gaza. Last year, Martin backed the Irish government's decision to recognize the existence of a Palestinian state.

While acknowledging that a two-state solution was "ideal," he added that it had become "much more challenging." He preferred to focus on the common ground: both wanted the release of hostages held by Hamas and a cessation of hostilities. The Irish motivation, he asserted, is a "humanitarian impulse."

Trump stepped forward in response to another question to the European leader, stating that his plan did not include evicting Gaza: "Nobody’s expelling any Palestinians."

The Republican leader also said he was unaware of the boycott organized by political groups against the St. Patrick's Day celebrations organized by the White House in protest of his position on the war in the Middle East. Irish parties such as Alliance, Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP) refused to attend.

War in Ukraine

POTUS also stated that he expected his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to accept the ceasefire proposal to which Ukraine gave the go-ahead hours earlier.

He detailed that American negotiators were on their way to Russia, adding that he could put economic pressure on Moscow, "but I hope it's not going to be necessary." "I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia," he said without going into details.

Martin, the first European leader to set foot in Washington after Trump's back-and-forth with Zelensky, praised the new administration's attempts to reach a truce. His country continued military aid during the Trump-ordered shutdown.