Taoiseach Simon Harris has said that he was only speaking “in a lighthearted manner” when he called US President Elect Donald Trump a “gowl” in 2020.
In an October 2020 radio interview on 2FM, Harris was asked by the interviewer if he would say Donald Trump was an “awful gowl” if he lost the 2020 Presidential election.
At the time Harris replied: “I’ll do that now if you wish.”
Speaking to the media in Kildare earlier today, Harris downplayed the comments.
“I welcome the opportunity to comment on it,” he said, after a journalist asked him if he still held to those remarks.
“I think if anyone listens back to that clip, let’s describe it as a light-hearted radio programme.
“It’s an Irish phrase, it was said in a lighthearted manner.
“But let me be very clear: President Trump won the election. President Trump comprehensively, clearly won the election. And yesterday we saw the US Congress validate and certify that matter.
“Not only did President Trump win the Whitehouse, but President Trump’s party won the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.”
The comments come with less than 2 weeks to go until Trump is officially sworn in as US President for his second term in the January 20th inauguration ceremony.
Rumours have also circulated that Harris, now the Taoiseach, may be lining up to take on the role of Foreign Affairs Minister in the ongoing Irish Government formation talks.
Previously, when asked by Gript about the “gowl” comment, Harris replied that he had “no intention” of apologising for the remarks, even despite the significant reliance of the Irish economy on US companies and trade.