DUBLIN (AP) — President Donald Trump is arriving Saturday in Dublin, where he'll hold talks with Ireland's president and prime minister, kicking off a weekend visit that's more about a major golf tournament held on a course he owns on the country's Atlantic coast.
The American president is set for separate meetings in Dublin with Irish President Catherine Connolly and Prime Minister Micheál Martin. Trump also plans remarks to U.S. and Irish business
leaders at the U.S. ambassador's official residence in Dublin before traveling to his oceanfront golf club in Doonbeg on the other side of the country to watch the Irish Open, which wraps up Sunday.
The visit, the latest example of the blending of Trump's official duties with his personal interests, has gotten under the skin of some Dubliners.
Police put up a cordon around Dublin’s 1,750-acre (700-hectare) Phoenix Park, where he’ll meet Martin, the taoiseach, at the government’s Farmleigh state guesthouse, say hello to the president at her residence, Áras an Uachtaráin , and stop by Deerfield, the U.S. ambassador’s residence.
Some residents expressed annoyance over the disruption.
“He’s causing mayhem in this city because he wants to go down to Doonbeg and play golf,” said taxi driver Christopher Fox, emphatically not a fan of Trump. “The world’s in turmoil and this fella’s down playing golf.”
University student Mina Petrovski said Trump’s “attitudes towards women, towards immigrants, towards minority communities in general are abhorrent.” She said it’s “shameful that the Irish government is welcoming him with open arms.”
Separately, a collection of left-leaning opposition parties, anti-military groups, pro-Palestinian organizations, environmentalists and others plan to demonstrate against Trump in Dublin on Saturday.
Trump was flying to Ireland overnight after observing the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The Republican president spent the two nights before Friday's solemn observance giving lengthy speeches at a political pep rally in Dallas.
Martin invited Trump to visit Ireland when they met at the White House on St. Patrick's Day this year, and Ireland's political leaders will likely see the visit as a chance to maintain warm trans-Atlantic relations despite differences over trade and foreign policy, issues the White House said Trump wants to discuss.
Trump is an avid golfer who plays just about every weekend at clubs he owns in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia. His attendance at the Irish Open continues his trend of appearing at high-profile sporting events — and having a hand in organizing some of them in ways that benefit his family business. His clubs in Doral, Florida, and Bedminster, New Jersey, have each hosted professional golf tournaments this year.
The Irish Open is the second European Tour event to be held at a Trump property this year. The Nexo Championship was held last month at Trump's golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Last year, Trump went to Scotland for five days to play golf at his club in Turnberry and later inaugurated a new Trump golf course in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire. During that visit, he held talks with the British prime minister and the president of the European Commission.
