Sean Spicer warns Ireland’s White House invite at risk if Taoiseach criticises Donald Trump
Ireland has been warned not to lecture the United States on policy during St Patrick’s Day visits to the country by a former White House press secretary. On The Hard Shoulder, Sean Spicer, who served under the Donald Trump administration, said future visits will be restricted if they turn into “bilateral meetings on policy issues” rather than celebrations. Recently, during a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump announced that the United States was “committed to buying and owning” Gaza. He also said the local population would be banished and that he could find other countries to “take care of the Palestinians”. Despite some diplomatic tension between Ireland and the US, the Government expects Micheál Martin will receive an invite to the White House. Mr Martin has described the tradition as a “time-honoured tradition which we appreciate”. However, speaking to Newstalk, Social Democrat Gary Gannon said the Taoiseach should boycott the annual ceremony if such the US annexes Gaza. “If there is a scenario where we literally have bulldozers going into Gaza, clearing 1.8 million people out, of course, it would be ludicrous to pass over a bowl of shamrock in that situation,” he said. “This is a different Trump 2.0; there are genuine calculations to be made [about] going to the US at this point. Credit to : Newstalk