Trump meets with Irish PM, vows to reclaim pharmaceutical businesses

President Donald Trump told Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday that the United States aimed to lure drug companies now operating out of Ireland back to the United States. The pair met on Wednesday during Martin’s annual White House visit to mark St. Patrick's Day, which falls on Monday, March 17.

Ireland was smart and took businesses away from the United States by offering tax cuts, Trump said minutes into the joint news conference. He doubled down on the comment later in the meeting and alleged that Ireland was taking advantage of the United States. Trump said he respected Ireland’s business savvy for taking the businesses and that previous leaders should never have let it happen. Martin was lucky that the Trump administration was not in power at that time, Trump said.

How did Martin respond? Martin gave little to no response to Trump’s comments, but did say that Irish businesses maintain major commercial ties with the United States. Ireland’s two biggest aviation companies together buy more Boeing aircraft than anyone else outside of America, and over 700 Irish businesses are now based in the United States, Martin noted. Trump still insisted that a serious economic deficit with Ireland remains, but said he would work with Martin to fix it.

Martin repeated his sentiments in a social media post later in the afternoon and described trade as a two-way street. America and Ireland have a very good relationship that will continue to develop and endure, he added. Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson both spoke at the Friends of Ireland Luncheon following the meeting, where both emphasized America’s relationship with Ireland, which they characterized as unique and strong.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report on Martin’s government formally recognizing the State of Palestine months after taking office.