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President Trump is heading to Ireland for a two day trip, and while there, he'll engage in some presidential diplomacy while visiting a golf tournament at his club in Dunbeg. Ireland fits into a unique place as Trump rethinks his relationship with Europe. It's militarily neutral - outside NATO - and deeply tied to the United States economically. NPR's Franco Ordoñez has the story.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: President Trump used his last meeting with Taoiseach Micheal Martin in the Oval Office to unleash a stream of complaints about other European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other NATO members. The president accused NATO leaders of making a foolish mistake by refusing to help the U.S. secure the Strait of Hormuz during the war with Iran.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: So everyone agrees with us, but they don't want to help. And we - you know, we, as the United States, have to remember that 'cause we think it's pretty shocking.
ORDOÑEZ: Trump is going to Ireland at a moment of heightened trade tensions and is pressuring Europe to do more for the U.S. Ireland, meanwhile, is trying to stay out of the fray while doing much of what Trump says he wants from Europe - investing heavily in the U.S. and expanding manufacturing here.
BRETT BRUEN: In Ireland, you have a country that is doing everything Trump wants other European countries to do.
ORDOÑEZ: Brett Bruen served as the White House director of global engagement in the Obama administration. Trump wants Europe to become less dependent on American military power. Ireland, because it's not a member of NATO, has been able to avoid some of the tensions Trump has had with NATO allies over burden sharing and support for the U.S. Bruen points to Irish investments in North Carolina and Virginia as examples of how Ireland is focused on the trade relationship.
BRUEN: Ireland is kind of a case study, a poster child for a country that's trying to expand investment in the U.S., and they have.
ORDOÑEZ: As he has with other European nations, Trump has accused Ireland of taking advantage of the U.S., pointing to the large concentration of American pharmaceutical companies in Ireland. Jenny Melia, who heads Ireland's economic development agency, says that despite the broader U.S. tariffs on the European Union, Irish companies have not backed away from doing business in the U.S.
JENNY MELIA: So right now, it might surprise some people that a country of 5 1/2 million people like Ireland - that we are the sixth largest investor into the U.S.
ORDOÑEZ: Trump is expected to meet again with the Taoiseach, who he has a relatively good relationship with. But there is the potential for some fireworks when he meets the Irish president Catherine Connolly, who, during her recent presidential campaign, called Trump a bully.
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PRESIDENT CATHERINE CONNOLLY: Have I a trust problem with America? I think every person in the country has a trust problem with America.
ORDOÑEZ: But Daniel Mulhall, who served as Ireland's ambassador to the U.S. during Trump's first administration, expects Connolly to proceed with caution.
DANIEL MULHALL: I would expect the president to understand that there's no mileage in having a row or an unpleasant set of exchanges with President Donald Trump.
ORDOÑEZ: Mulhall says Ireland has an interest in making Trump's visit a positive one. And he adds that their military neutrality and deep economic ties also give Ireland a different position in Europe and potentially a role as a bridge between Washington and Europe.
MULHALL: For a small country, that's what counts, is, you know, your ability to manage your relations with a larger country even when things become a bit difficult, as they have been for many countries during the second Trump term in particular. I mean, imagine being Canada or being Denmark at the moment.
ORDOÑEZ: He says the stakes are just different for Ireland, and with so much of its economy tied to the U.S., Ireland has little interest in becoming the next country to find itself at odds with Trump. Franco Ordoñez, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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