Book Offer
This will close in 10 seconds
While the snobbish hostilities of Taoisigh Enda Kenny and Leo Varadkar towards the first Trump Administration did much for their egos, it did little good for Ireland as a whole. With Donald Trump now sworn in as President of the United States for a second time, hopefully Dublin politicos will have some pause about their past behaviour towards the Republican Party.
It is apparent to all observers that Irish leaders have horribly exaggerated their street-cred in the United States. By favouring one political party over another in a binary political landscape, and failing to build in-roads with the other, Ireland was thoroughly unprepared for the electoral victory of President Donald Trump.
Now, without an anchor to ground its relationship with the Republican Party, or a conservative network to speak of, Irish diplomats will have to forge new partnerships and relationships which may be difficult for the Oireachtas to digest.
However, Irish officials must be cognisant that their reputation with the second Trump Administration will not be a blank slate. Lack of investment into Republican networks on Capitol Hill has put Ireland in a disadvantaged position, circumstances which are entirely of Irish folly.
Ireland will not be able to speak to the leaders of Trump’s second term, because the country has not earned their trust. On the contrary, through public support for the Kamala Harris campaign and membership of close-knit Democrat social circles, Irish leaders are seen as untrustworthy and unreliable.
Irish leaders will have to answer to its prior hostilities towards the Republican Party, and prove its willingness to work with the Trump Administration, which will mean compromising on some of their more ideological beliefs. Protecting Irish economic prosperity is one of our core national interests, but there is only one route to Republican leaders through which this may be pursued.
Ireland must change its reputation through a robust campaign to capitalize upon the cultural good-will which has previously characterised the Irish-American
relationship. The strong cultural sentiments towards Ireland are equally present among members of the Republican Party as they are in the DNC, they have just yet to be explored.
This means Ireland should push for a diplomatic and cultural “charm offensive” not towards those at the top of Republican leadership, who will see it for the cynical ploy that it is, but rather orient themselves towards a genuine grass-roots restoration of the Irish-American relationship amongst the young professionals working in and around the Trump Administration.
Washington is known for its vast support networks for young professionals across all fields and subjects, with many private and public sponsors to boot, taking an interest in the United States’ future leaders. Dublin would do well to begin hosting such events themselves, targeted towards Trumpist and conservative social networks across the city.
The draft platform for government 2025 shows awareness in Ireland that the country is underperforming in diplomatic capital, and is in desperate need of reforming its image in Washington.
However, proposals such as sending Irish diplomats to Southern States show how little they have actually understood their mistakes. Sending embassy staffers to live in cities like Charlotte in North Carolina, Miami in Florida, or Austen in Texas, will not miraculously manifest Irish ties to the Trump Administration. Not to mention that many of these cities, though in red states, are known for having large populations of Democrat voters.
Thematic events which emphasise landmark dates in Irish and American history are simple suggestions, but the Irish contribution to the American Revolution ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary must be center-stage throughout the first half of Trump’s second term.
Contributions of Irish heroes like Thomas Francis Meagher to American history, as well as Irish immigrants’ military accolades in service of the United States, ought to similarly dictate Ireland’s cultural rebranding in Washington.
We must refocus our outreach in Washington along lines of Irish heritage, including Irish folklore and the country’s Catholic heritage, to project to young Americans that Irish identity is still an independent force, and not just another Anglophone cultural colony of American pop-culture.
A critical fracture point, which Dublin will have no choice but to acquiesce on should it hope to befriend the Trump Administration and its Big Tech billionaire patrons, is the protection of freedom of speech. With Trump allies’ Elon Musk’s X, and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta holding their European Union Headquarters in Dublin, Ireland’s new digital censorship agency Coimisiún na Meán will quickly find itself at the end of Washington’s barrel. Irish officials must be warned that the Republican Party have been watching the hate speech legislation debate in Ireland, and they have noticed how the bill was duplicitously hammered through the Oireachtas just before a General Election.
Ireland won’t be able to get all that it wants out of President Trump’s second term, but it can lay the groundwork for a stronger relationship with the Republican Party in the future, but the critical component as to whether this takes place is just how much Irish officials are willing to compromise on their personal beliefs for the good of the country.
Max Keating
This will close in 10 seconds