The controversial visit is off
Donald Trump has cancelled his upcoming visit to Ireland, according to the Irish Independent.
The 45th President of the United States of America had been scheduled to visit Paris in November to participate in a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the fighting in World War I.
From there, Trump was also planning to make the journey to Ireland to renew the deep and historic ties between the two nations.
On Tuesday afternoon, the newspaper quoted sources stating that the visit is now off.
They say that Trump’s entire European itinerary is now under review, with the Irish excursion set to be cancelled entirely.
Virgin Media News political correspondent Gavan Reilly has suggested that the visit may be postponed rather than cancelled outright.
Officials have been discussing only a November visit, so any difficulty raised on the US side about his visit is specific to November timing.
Visit might well merely be postponed, not cancelled – and 'standing invite' would remain in effect… @VirginMediaNews
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) September 11, 2018
Ireland’s TĂ¡naiste Simon Coveney had previously taken to Twitter at the end of August to announce Trump’s visit, noting that the US President “is always welcome in Ireland”.
Coveney went on to highlight the “strong historic, economic, cultural and family ties” between the two nations.
President Trump will visit Ireland in November. The US President is always welcome in Ireland. Our two countries have such strong historic, economic, cultural and family ties. Maintaining those connections is always a top priority đŸ‡ºđŸ‡¸đŸ‡®đŸ‡ªđŸ‡ªđŸ‡º
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) August 31, 2018
The announcement sparked calls for protests as well as the apparent imminent arrival of the Trump ‘baby blimp’ made famous during his summer trip to the UK.
Trump himself has yet to officially comment on the matter, but he did take the time on Tuesday to remember the events of 11 September, 2001 in his usual succinct fashion:
17 years since September 11th!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2018
