After President Trump’s infamous decision to ban travelers from a range of countries, seven middle-eastern countries which have a majority Muslim population, outrage was showcased by the American people. Thousands fled to the streets to protest, primarily in major U.S. cities.
Countries “across the pond”, particularly Ireland, is facing a Trump-sized dilemma. Their Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Enda Kenny, has said that he intends to visit the U.S. president on St. Patrick’s Day, Ireland’s national day. In a joint press conference with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May in Government Buildings on Jan 30th, Kenny said he intended to accept Trump’s invitation to the White House in March for various reasons.
He also said that he disagrees with the immigration travel ban and will tell the 45th President so to his face when he visits in March.
The Irish people have made a massive display of disagreement to this decision. An online petition, run by Uplift.ie entitled ‘Shamrock for Trump: Not in my name’ was made and aimed to achieve 40,000 signatures. Currently, it has an impressive 38,100 signatures. On Uplift.ie the description of the petition entails “I want Enda Kenny to be aware that if he does decide to travel to meet President Donald Trump on St. Patrick’s Day, that he is not traveling in my name.”
The Journal.ie, an Irish based news outlet, ran a poll in late December asking their readers “Would you welcome Trump if he visited Ireland in 2017?” Results from the poll concluded as follows: 63% (9,647 people) said ‘No’, 31% (4,801 people) said ‘Yes’ and 5% said ‘I don’t know’.
Another similar poll, also ran by Journal.ie, called ‘Should Enda Kenny meet Donald Trump on St.Patrick’s Day?’ saw a huge response from readers with nearly 22,000 people participating in the poll. The results from it are below:
It is evident that the Irish people feel strongly about the head of government’s opportunity to voice their concerns about the decisions the 45th U.S. President has made thus far in his position.
Kenny remains in an unquestionably difficult position. It is doubtful that he will decline the visit to the White House on Mar. 17, at least he now is aware of the premature backlash that he may face if he fails to mention the causes of concern for the Irish people.
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