President welcomed Irish Prime Minister on Wednesday for the annual St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House, where he added Ireland to the list of countries he says are taking advantage of the United States.
Martin countered by noting Ireland's contributions to the U.S.
It was Trump's first Oval Office meeting with a foreign leader since his which morphed into a shouting match as they jousted over ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The session ended with Zelenskyy being asked to leave the White House.
Martin, who offered only gentle pushback to some of Trump's comments, returned to the White House in the evening and presented Trump with a bowl of shamrocks at an early St. Patrick's Day celebration. The duo also attended an annual luncheon at the Capitol.
The president's banter during the Oval Office meeting also touched on Vice President shamrock-themed socks and Trump nemesis 's recent move to Ireland.
The Republican president has been sparring with U.S. allies and adversaries alike over trade, from countries from Canada to China and in between. During the appearance with Martin, Trump repeated his claim that the European Union was created just to stick it to the U.S.
Asked if Ireland, a member of the EU, was taking advantage, too, Trump said, 鈥渙f course they are. I have great respect for Ireland and what they did and they should have done just what they did, but the United States shouldn鈥檛 have let it happen.鈥� He was referring to the concentration of U.S. pharmaceutical companies in Ireland, due to the country's tax policies.
鈥淲e had stupid leaders. We had leaders that didn鈥檛 have a clue or let鈥檚 say they weren鈥檛 businesspeople, but they didn鈥檛 have a clue what was happening and all of a sudden Ireland has our pharmaceutical companies," Trump said.
Martin countered that the trade relationship is 鈥渁 two-way street,鈥� adding that Ireland's two largest airlines buy more aircrafts from than anyone else outside of America.
More than 700 Irish companies are also based in America, creating thousands of jobs, Martin said. 鈥淭hat's a little known fact that doesn't turn up in the statistics,鈥� he added.
鈥淚 understand where you're coming from, fully,鈥� Martin told Trump, 鈥渂ut I think it's a relationship that we can develop and that will endure into the future.鈥�
At one point, Trump became distracted as he talked about
鈥淏y the way, I love these socks. What鈥檚 with these socks? I鈥檓 trying to stay focused, but I鈥檓 very impressed with the VP鈥檚 socks,鈥� Trump said, drawing chuckles from others in the room.
had worn socks patterned with small green shamrocks as a nod to Martin's visit.
When a reporter asked Martin why his country would let O'Donnell move there, Trump jumped at the opening.
鈥淚 like that question,鈥� the president said, adding that Martin was 鈥漛etter off not knowing鈥� about O'Donnell.
O'Donnell, a comedian and former talk-show host, and Trump have feuded for years. O鈥橠onnell, who is gay, recently announced that she moved to Ireland in January, citing a lack of equal rights in America.
Trump found a way to sneak his penchant for professional fighting into the discourse.
As the meeting wrapped, Trump was asked to name his favorite person in Ireland. Trump referred to Irish mixed martial arts fighter , partly because "he's got the best tattoos I鈥檝e ever seen.鈥�
Trump is well known for and attended bouts during the 2024 presidential campaign.
He noted that Martin鈥檚 father was an acclaimed boxer, but motioned to Martin saying, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e so smooth,鈥� suggesting he did not look like a boxer.
鈥淚鈥檓 a pretty good defensive boxer,鈥� Martin joked in reply.
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Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
Darlene Superville, The Associated Press
