Ó Ríordáin slams Trump invitation
Ahead of his Irish Stand event, Labour Party Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has condemned the Taoiseach for extending an invitation to Donald Trump to visit Ireland.
Senator Ó Ríordáin said:
“Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s intended invitation to President Donald Trump to visit Ireland is an insult to the immigrant story of the Irish on the eve of our National Holiday.
“President Trump is the most dangerous of modern American Presidents, with his hateful anti-immigrant rhetoric dividing America and preying on the most vulnerable of Americans.
“Where Mexican-Americans and Muslim-Americans now walk, the Irish once walked. It is an outrage that the Taoiseach of our country is inviting to Ireland a man who is internationally renowned for the hate that he spawns.
“We are better than that. We are the nation of coffin ships and immigration, of seeking refuge and fleeing violence, of overcoming discrimination and religious intolerance.
“Trump has no place in Ireland. The Taoiseach insults us all by inviting him.
“When questioned on the possibility of inviting President Trump to Ireland in February, Mr Varadkar said he wasn’t sure “what purpose it would serve”. It is disappointing to see now the Taoiseach going back on his original stance on inviting President Trump.”