Government politicians seem to have ‘all forgotten’ their criticism of Donald Trump in their rush to congratulate him on his US Election victory, People Before Profit has warned.
Yesterday, the Taoiseach congratulated the US President-Elect, before praising the “historic bonds” between Ireland and America and pledging to “work to make these even stronger in the years ahead”.
On Newstalk Breakfast, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said he had been disappointed that the congratulatory letters sent by Irish ministers failed to mention the conflict in the Middle East.
“At the very least, their statements should have had some points about the ongoing genocide in Gaza and calling for an end to the Israeli onslaught,” he said.
“As opposed to simply being a, ‘Well done, you won the election,’ a very standard kind of statement.
“I would have argued the same if Kamala Harris had won; the Biden Administration is the current one that is funding and arming that genocide.”
The U.S. - Ireland relationship will remain strong, no matter who wins tonight. ???? #Election2024 pic.twitter.com/KOMo3ehPeO
— Ambassador Claire Cronin (@USAmbIreland) November 5, 2024
DCU Director of Public Policy Dr Eoin O’Malley disagreed and said welcoming the new President is a “natural thing to do”.
The relationship between the US and Ireland is an incredibly important one and it would stupid and treacherous if [the Taoiseach] were to do anything to try and disrupt that before [Trump’s] done anything,” he said.
“Trump is President-elect; he obviously was President before.
"Many people in Ireland don’t like that and would prefer if someone else was.
“We don’t get to choose.
"You don't get to choose your family and it’s probably a bit like dealing with an alcoholic uncle at a wedding.
“You don’t antagonise them before they start drinking; you wait and treat them with respect beforehand.”
Congratulations to US President-elect @realDonaldTrump on your victory. The people of the United States have spoken and Ireland will work to deepen and strengthen the historic and unbreakable bonds between our people and our nations in the years ahead.
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) November 6, 2024
Deputy Murphy said the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have both been openly critical about Donald Trump in the past.
He said that criticism seems to have been “all forgotten” but urged them to stand up to the next Trump Administration.
“Ultimately, I think the debate about the language is less important than about actions,” he said.
“That goes both for the Biden Administration and the incoming Trump one.
“It’s illustrated by that fact that we know there’s a genocide in Gaza, we know almost 50,000 people have been killed.
“We know the Irish Government has said a lot of critical words - but why haven’t they done anything to stop US weapons going through Irish territory?”
Jobs
Dr O’Malley said Ireland’s “deep” economic ties to the US mean the Government cannot afford to jeopardise the relationship.
“We have to maintain them,” he said.
“It would be actively dangerous if we were [not] to.
“It’s amongst the most important economic relationships we have; hundreds of thousands of jobs in Ireland are dependent on that relationship.
“So, when you have disagreements between friends, you deal with it diplomatically - you don’t start a war over Twitter.”
Donald Trump will be inaugurated for his second term on January 20th next year.
Main image: Split of Simon Harris and Donald Trump. Pictures by: Alamy.com and RollingNews.ie
