Donald Trump has called for a united Ireland and questioned Britain's commitment to defending the Falkland Islands, in comments that have strained the Special Relationship during his visit to Dublin.
The US President is in Ireland this weekend to watch the Irish Open at his Doonbeg golf club. Before the tournament, he met Irish PM Micheal Martin and took questions from the media.
Trump's Call for Irish Unity
Asked about the future of Ireland, Trump said: "I don't want to cause any problems but I will tell you I'd love to see it unified."
He added: "I have friends on both sides, great people. They're Irish people - how can they be bad, right? I'd love to see it unified. It would be great. A great feather in everybody's cap if that happened."
Trump continued: "It's gonna happen eventually. It may as well happen now. You have the right man over here to make it happen. Now, the UK will have something to say about it, obviously. But I think it'd be a great thing. How can it be bad?"
PM Andy Burnham has ruled out a referendum on Irish unification. During his first official visit to Northern Ireland last week, Burnham said the Brexit and Scottish independence polls showed the "risks that come from those situations take a long time to heal".
Falklands Question
Trump was also asked about his meeting with Irish President Catherine Connolly and his conversation with Burnham this week, including what he would do if his ally Javier Milei, the President of Argentina, invaded the Falkland Islands.
Trump appeared to suggest Britain would be reluctant to defend the islands because they take a long time to reach by boat. "I think it was a different country [in 1982] at that time the UK a little bit, when they [Argentina] went in and took it over," he said.
"I don't know if they'd [the UK] be willing to travel that far. It is very far away. You're talking about weeks by boat. I'm sure I'll be called in to that potential disaster, but if they do I'll probably be able to settle it out. But right now you have two countries that are not happy."
The Falklands are considerably better defended now than in 1982, with more than 1,000 troops, aircraft and a Royal Navy vessel currently defending the Islands.
