DUBLIN: Donald Trump said Saturday he would "love to see" a united Ireland, wading into a politically sensitive subject as he embarked on a two-day Irish visit that blurs the lines between his presidency and personal business interests.
After meeting Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin in Dublin, Trump said reunification of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland -- split for over a century -- would be "a fantastic thing".
"The way I look at it, it's going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now," he told reporters, adding though that "the UK will have something to say about it, obviously".
The island of Ireland has been split between the Irish republic in the south and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, since 1921.
Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland that killed about 3,000 people, a referendum can be held if the UK government determines a majority there is likely to favour joining the Republic of Ireland.
The people of the Republic of Ireland would also have to vote in favour for reunification to occur.
The United States has previously adopted a position of neutrality on the issue.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham insisted last month that a unity referendum was "off the table", drawing a sharp response from the pro-unity party Sinn Fein.
Asked about Trump's comments, a spokesperson for his Downing Street office referred reporters to comments Burnham made in parliament Wednesday when he vowed to "stick to the Good Friday Agreement 100 percent".
However Gavin Robinson, leader of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, said on X that "as unionists we are not interested in the destruction of our country by joining with the Irish Republic".
The US president had touched down at Dublin airport shortly before 8:25 am (0725 GMT) under a security operation dubbed one of the largest ever mounted in Ireland.
At least 4,000 police and other personnel, including snipers, are mobilised for the visit, which will see Trump fly to his luxury resort in Doonbeg on Ireland's west coast to watch the Irish Open golf tournament.
He inspected a military guard of honour after being received by left-wing President Catherine Connolly, an outspoken critic of the US leader.
"I conveyed the strong view of the Irish people that the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted," Connolly said in a post-meeting statement.
He then met Martin, when the Iran war and US tariffs on EU pharmaceuticals and immigration were on the agenda.
Ireland and the United States have long been close allies, partly because of their common ancestral ties.
But the Irish government's politics diverge sharply from those of the Trump administration on many issues, with Ireland being one of Europe's most pro-Palestinian countries.
Ireland is among several countries, including Spain, the UK and France, that have announced a trade ban targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
After a brief visit to the US embassy, Trump then flew to his Doonbeg resort -- a remote, coastal site in County Clare that the Trump Organization purchased in 2014.
In Dublin, at least 2,000 protesters waving Palestinian flags and holding placards rallied against the visit, chanting "Donald Trump's not welcome here", according to AFP reporters.
One sign read "no imperialists in Ireland" while some held explicit inflatable balloons showing Trump in sex acts with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Trump is a warmonger," student Cillian Whelan, 19, told AFP. "He has no right to be in my country. He should be on trial."
Trump's attendance at the Irish Open adds an extra layer of complexity to a security effort that is reportedly costing Ireland 20 million euros ($23 million).
Some 40,000 fans are expected at the tournament over the weekend, with six-time major winner and current world number two Rory McIlroy the main draw.
The 80-year-old billionaire has promoted his family's golf business unabashedly since returning to the White House for his second stint as president in January 2025.
Last summer, he welcomed then-UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen to his plush resort at Turnberry on Scotland's west coast.
The golf-mad president may even award the trophy on Sunday.
"He's really just visiting the golf resort he owns and dropping into Dublin for a courtesy visit," Daniel Geary, a US history professor at Trinity College Dublin, told AFP.
"He sees little difference between his private interests and his role as president."