St Patrick’s Day in Trump’s White House? I won’t be heading to Washington
President Donald Trump wears shamrock during a meeting with then-taoiseach Leo Varadkar
3 min read
St Patrick’s Day in the White House has long been a fun and fixed point in the Irish political calendar; an annual celebration of Ireland and the Irish-American diaspora, the lasting affection between our countries and the roles we have played in each other’s growth.
This year, though, as leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, I won’t be heading to Washington.
The actions we’ve seen from Donald Trump and his newly installed administration are of such a character that delicately clinking glasses over a bowl of shamrock in the White House has become unthinkable to my colleagues and to my constituents.
The approach of the US government has made it clear that this is not politics as normal. Domestically, Trump has taken an axe to traditional American checks and balances, hounding political opponents, demonising minorities and setting political arsonists loose on public services.
Internationally he has adopted a ‘might is right’ approach, attempting to extort a besieged Ukraine, undermining long-term European allies, and taking a cold-blooded, grifting approach to the devastated people of Gaza.
Each of these actions taken alone is disgraceful. Together they are outrageous.
Our decision isn’t born out of a desire to isolate American communities or to sour relations with progressive US leaders. The SDLP is a party based on dialogue and founded by people inspired by the American civil rights movement. Our political approach learnt from the peaceful and principled protest of Martin Luther King Jr and successive American leaders who followed in his footsteps.
Delicately clinking glasses over a bowl of shamrock in the White House has become unthinkable
Registering dissent and protesting injustice is a proud strand within the diverse and pluralist American tradition. We have seen this most recently in the millions who courageously marched in solidarity with Palestine. It is this pluralism which is under threat over the coming years. It is clear we are entering a new and difficult time, and the old sureties are fading. As such, both at home and internationally, we need to return to shared fundamental values of solidarity, co-operation and peace.
We’re not blind, either, to the scale of US investment across the island of Ireland, nor to the pivotal role that the US played in our peace process. It was the SDLP, in the form of John Hume, who galvanised US (and European) interest in solutions that ultimately manifested in the Good Friday Agreement.
We’re alive, too, to the challenging role for heads of state and the diplomatic tightrope they have to walk. We’re making a political call, as a political party – using the platform available to us to reflect the profound distress and worry of our constituents about the fate of some of the most vulnerable people in the world, under the US administration.
Politicians, activists and entrepreneurs of goodwill stood with us in tough times, and we’ll return the favour, engaging with and supporting US politicians and activists standing up for decency and global order, but outside of the set-piece St Patrick’s Day moments. There’s a clear distinction here between rejecting the politics of the current US administration and severing ties with the American people or institutions that have supported peace efforts in Ireland.
Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine. In each other’s shelter, the people thrive.
Claire Hanna, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party and MP for Belfast South and Mid Down
PoliticsHome Newsletters
Get the inside track on what MPs and Peers are talking about. Sign up to The House's morning email for the latest insight and reaction from Parliamentarians, policy-makers and organisations.
