US President Donald Trump said on September 12, 2026, that he would love to see Ireland unified and described it as something that would be a fantastic thing, according to reporters present at his joint appearance with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Dublin. Trump added that it is going to happen eventually so it may as well happen now, while noting the UK would have a say in any such move. The comments broke from the longstanding US policy of neutrality on the issue upheld by previous presidents since the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
The Arab Times reported that a Northern Ireland leader said Trump had put Irish unification on the table with these remarks. Michelle O’Neill, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, framed the intervention as a significant development that could advance discussions around a potential border poll. O’Neill has long advocated for a referendum on reunification as provided for under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson rejected the notion, stating that Northern Ireland’s constitutional future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington. Robinson, whose party supports continued union with Britain, posted the remarks on social media shortly after Trump spoke. His position aligns with polls that show a majority in Northern Ireland still favors remaining part of the United Kingdom, according to a Reuters review of recent surveys.
The Good Friday Agreement ended three decades of conflict known as the Troubles, which claimed nearly 3,700 lives, a figure cited across multiple historical assessments including those from the BBC and the Irish government. Brokered in part by the United States under President Bill Clinton, the accord allows for a referendum on unification if the British government believes a majority would support it. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham had stated only weeks earlier that such a referendum was off the table, a position Downing Street reiterated following Trump’s comments.
Trump later acknowledged in a speech at a US embassy event in Ireland that his remarks might prove controversial, yet he repeated that he believed unification would be a very cool thing. The president gestured toward Martin as the right person to advance the matter during the initial press conference. His statements drew praise from nationalist figures while drawing criticism from unionists who view any external commentary as unhelpful.
A Politico report noted that Trump’s endorsement breaks with decades of American presidential restraint on the sensitive topic, which has remained a core element of the peace process. Support for a united Ireland has grown modestly since Brexit but still falls short of a clear majority in Northern Ireland, according to data compiled by polling firm LucidTalk. The US role in the region dates back to the 1990s, when American diplomacy helped facilitate the agreement that continues to shape cross-border relations today.
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