Here’s a first day sampling of Irish and Irish-American opinion about Donald Trump’s shocking presidential victory.
- On behalf of the Government and the people of Ireland, I am pleased to offer our sincere congratulations to Donald J. Trump on his election as the 45th President of the United States.
Statement by An Taoiseach (Enda Kenny) on the election of Mr Donald J. Trump
- Northern Ireland politicians react to Trump, from the BBC.
- The republic of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt is now the United Hates of America, held together, insofar as it will hold together at all, by fear and loathing.
Fintan O’Toole in The Irish Times.
- Five areas of immediate concern for Ireland: Undocumented Irish; multinationals; trade; border controls and visa programs; and cross Atlantic relationships.
Philip Ryan in The Irish Independent
- Why so many Irish Americans voted for Trump? The answer I heard most often was that these voters could stomach [his] flaws because, they believed, Trump would do greater good by “draining the swamp,” that is Washington.
Niall O’Dowd in Irish Central (U.S.)
- In comparison to Hillary Clinton, who made several visits to Northern Ireland over the past 21 years, Donald Trump is more of an unknown quantity so far as most Stormont politicians are concerned.
BBC NI Political Editor Mark Devenport
- The election of Donald Trump … is America’s Brexit vote. He is its Putin, Orban, Erdogan, Duterte, wrapped into one unique, grotesque, autocratic form, and, yes, also a cry of despair. But caveat emptor U.S. voters have no idea what they have bought.
“They Know Not What They Do,” editorial in The Irish Times
The entrance of Trump’s Doonbeg golf course in County Clare during my July visit.