‘Majority do not welcome him’: Trump heads to Ireland amid fury over Gaza

What the report says

Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in Ireland on Saturday, with Al Jazeera reporting that the visit is meeting strong public opposition amid anger over the war in Gaza. Citing a recent Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll, the article says 69 percent of respondents did not support the trip. Demonstrations are planned in Dublin and other parts of the country, including a protest at the Garden of Remembrance.

The report says the visit will include meetings with Irish leaders, including Taoiseach Micheal Martin and President Catherine Connolly, whose role is largely ceremonial but who has previously described the US as an untrustworthy power in the context of Ireland’s foreign policy views. Protest organizers and students interviewed by Al Jazeera said they see the trip as a chance to reject what they view as US support for Israel’s campaign in Gaza. Several speakers and groups are also pressing Irish officials to raise the issue during talks with Trump.

Al Jazeera says Ireland is among Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israel and was the first EU country to ban imports from Israeli settlements deemed illegal. The article also notes the large security operation planned for the visit, including about 4,000 personnel, among them roughly 1,000 US Secret Service agents and anti-drone measures. After official meetings in Dublin, Trump is expected to attend the Irish Open golf tournament in Doonbeg, where he owns a resort. The visit matters because it highlights tension between Ireland’s pro-Palestinian public sentiment and its diplomatic and economic ties to the United States.