Conor McGregor slammed by Irish PM after chummy White House visit with Trump: ‘He doesn’t represent us’
IRELAND’S Prime Minister slammed Conor McGregor following his St Patrick’s Day meeting with Donald Trump, saying the sportsman does not represent Ireland.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin snapped back at the mixed martial artist after the US President branded the shamed fighter his “favorite Irishman”.
McGregor, 36, made an appearance at The White House for an Oval Office meeting and a press conference where he launched an attack on immigration.
He claimed “Ireland is on the cusp of losing its Irishness” due to the “illegal immigration racket”.
The controversial fighter lashed out at his government and claimed the current administration of “zero action with zero accountability”.
Ireland’s Prime Minister slammed the shamed sportsman’s White House rant.
The leader wrote on X: “Conor McGregor’s remarks are wrong, and do not reflect the spirit of St Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland.”
Ireland’s Deputy premiere Simon Harris distanced the government from McGregors controversial remarks.
Harris said: “But let me be very clear, Conor McGregor is not here in the United States representing Ireland or the people of Ireland. He’s here in a personal capacity.
“He doesn’t speak for Ireland. He doesn’t speak for the people of Ireland. He has no mandate to do such.
“My views on him are very clear, well established, previously articulated, long standing and on the public record.”
Despite this, McGregor praised Trump’s as “inspiring” as he said the US is Ireland’s “big sibling”.
He continued: “So we wish for our relationship with the United States to continue, and we wish to be taken care of by the big bro.
“The United States should look after its little bro. And that’s how we feel.”
At one point McGregor even signed a cap with the words “Make Ireland Great Again” on it.
McGregor has been adamant that he wants to run for the Irish presidency this year with him claiming on several occasions he wants to “save” Ireland.
Harris added that he believed McGregor should not become Ireland’s next leader.
The deputy prime minister added: “I think it’s always better for elections to be decided, obviously, by those who live in a country, and by the people of Ireland.
“That’s how our presidential election will be decided.”
“I don’t wish to provide free airtime here to Mr McGregor. I don’t expect he’s going to be the president of Ireland.”
McGregor’s invite came just five days after the Taoiseach was welcomed to the White House for a visit with Trump.
Trump accused Ireland of taking America’s “pharmaceutical and other companies away through taxation”.
The US President said: “It’s too bad that happened – the Irish are smart, you’re a smart people, you took our pharmaceutical companies and other companies through taxation, improper taxation.
“They made it very good for companies to move over there.”
Mr Martin acknowledged that pharmaceutical companies in Ireland were doing “very well” and said there is room for those firms to grow in the US.
SHAMED FIGHTER
McGregor’s meeting with the US president comes less than five months after a civil jury decided he assaulted a woman in a Dublin hotel room in December 2018.
Nikita Hand accused the Irish fighter of “brutally raping and battering” her after a Christmas night out.
McGregor has insisted he will appeal the civil court jury’s verdict as he has always maintained he had consensual sex with Hand.
Mum-of-one Hand sued both McGregor and a man called James Lawrence, alleging the pair both took part in the hotel penthouse assault.
The jury of eight women and four men found McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand but she lost her case against Lawrence.