The Taoiseach reprimanding US President Donald Trump on policy would likely be the last White House St Patrick’s Day, Sean Spicer has said.

The former US Government Press Secretary told The Hard Shoulder that Taoiseach Micheál Martin should use the upcoming trip to “seize the opportunity to continue to highlight and honour the unbelievable bond that the Irish people and the American people have”.

Mr Spicer said choosing to use the shamrock exchange to reprimand Trump would “undermine years of goodwill”.

“The idea that the Taoiseach would think that it would be a good idea to reprimand the President of the United States on issues of policy… you know, we've got the right of free speech in our country, he has absolutely the right to go do that,” he said.

“But I would hesitate to say [it] might be the last time that [this] celebration occurs, if he chooses to go down that path.

“I find it extraordinarily undiplomatic to come over, using the situation and the pretence of a celebration of the two cultures, to come over and use this as an opportunity to lecture us.

“I personally, as an Irish American, would be offended and would highly recommend that the President cease to do this going forward.”

Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer with Kieran Cuddihy in Newstalk studios in 2024. Image: Newstalk

Mr Spicer said berating Trump in this situation would be “unbelievably short-sighted”.

“I think it would be unbelievably short-sighted, and there would be long term ramifications if the Taoiseach chooses to use this moment to advance a personal, political, ideological view,” he said.

“I can't think of a more short-sighted way to screw up a decades long tradition that has come to captivate the entire country here, and he will have no one to blame but himself should he choose that path.”

US President Donald Trump and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar meet for the annual St Patricks Day visit in the Oval Office, 12-03-2020. Image: White House Photo / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Spicer said that Ireland “punches above their weight” with the shamrock celebrations.

“Ireland punches above their weight when they come over for St Patrick's Day - the red carpet, [or] frankly, the green carpet gets rolled out for them,” he said.

“They meet with the President, the National Security Advisor, members of Congress, there's an entire lunch dedicated to that.

“There's no other country in the world that gets this kind of treatment – none.

“No one that that has an annual event where the entire Government of the United States pauses to honour the special relationship between the two countries and the two cultures.”

The fountain on the South Lawn of the White House died green in honour of St Patrick’s Day, 16-03-2018. Image: SMG/Zuma Press/PA Images

On EU tariffs that Trump is now implementing and further threatening, Mr Spicer said the matter is “unbelievably simple”.

“He's communicated that and telegraphed it - he wants reciprocity,” he said.

“So, on issues of tariff and non-tariff barriers, he's looking industry by industry and figuring out whether or not the United States is getting a good deal or not.

“He's trying to figure out whether or not the market access that we get is equivalent to the market access that other countries are getting to the United States and if not, then he wants equivalency.”

'That would be unbelievably foolish and shortsighted!'

Sean Spicer warns that Ireland's St Patrick's Day White House invite might be the last if the Taoiseach tries to 'reprimand' Donald Trump.@TheHardShoulder pic.twitter.com/VLdxDlvXN4

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) February 18, 2025

Mr Spicer thinks Trump understands the issues with trade deficits between a small country like Ireland and the US.

“I don't think that anybody believes that you can solve the trade deficit between a smaller country like Ireland or a larger market like the United States, but I think he can look at it and say, ‘Do we have a fair shot at your market?’,” he said.

“Whether it's tariff or non-tariff barriers that are creating that barrier, once that's eliminated, I don't think that he's going to say, ‘Hey, if we eliminate that barrier and there's still a trade deficit that we have to eliminate it’.

Mr Spicer said Trump “understands the sheer size of the two countries”.

Listen back here:

Sean Spicer on The Hard Shoulder. 18/02/2025 Image: Newstalk