The DUP has not been left embarrassed by Donald Trump’s declared support for a united Ireland, its leader has said.
Gavin Robinson rejected suggestions his party had hitched its wagon to the US president and had now been left red-faced in the wake of Mr Trump’s comments on Irish unification.
Mr Robinson downplayed the president’s pro-unity remarks during his weekend visit to Ireland, describing them as a “dead cat strategy” to divert attention from other issues that had dominated the build up to his trip, such as the conflict in the Middle East.
The DUP leader’s comments came as Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows claimed unionist rivals who had portrayed Mr Trump as an ally of unionism had made a “strategic error”. He accused them of acting like “fan boys” of the president.
Accompanied by DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly as he spoke to reporters at Stormont on Monday, Mr Robinson was asked whether he had any regrets that senior party figures had previously voiced enthusiastic support for Mr Trump, some of them posing for selfies with the president and others holding up a Trump flag.
“Our party doesn’t hitch our wagon to anyone,” the East Belfast MP said.
“You’ve heard me say many times before, despite all of your (the media’s) persistent efforts, that we love many and we trust few, and we paddle our own canoe. That’s it.
“You know that’s our position, and whilst we have had the respect to engage with the office of president, and Emma as deputy First Minister has proudly championed Northern Ireland in the United States of America over the last number of years, and that important work should continue.
“You’ve heard of the dead cat strategy. You know that President Trump was considering all the press attention would be around his position in the Middle East and the awkwardness between him and the President of the Republic of Ireland (Catherine Connolly), and so he said something controversial that diverted your attention, diverted everyone’s attention, and they talked about something else.”
He added: “No matter how many times we ask you to see the nature of engagement for what it is, there’s always this political drive to push a different agenda. That’s not accurate.”
Mr Robinson also questioned the decision of Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O’Neill to boycott recent St Patrick’s Day engagements at the White House in protest at US support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
“I’m serious when I say that this attempt to overplay our willingness to engage across the political spectrum at times goes too far,” he said.
“What we have had is a deputy First Minister willing to go and champion Northern Ireland, alongside our ministers in Washington, far too few questions about why our First Minister absented herself from the role that she has in engaging with that office.”
Mr Robinson made clear that Mr Trump had no influence on whether a unity referendum was ultimately called.
“The most interesting thing about all of this is that he may be the most powerful man in the world, but he has absolutely no power in the question of Northern Ireland and our future at all. None,” he said.
“The power rests with us. The power rests with all of us and it will be respected by the British Government and the Government of the Irish Republic.
“So it doesn’t matter what power he has today, and whether it sustains for the next two years or not. He has no power in our constitutional future.”
Also speaking to the media at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Ulster Unionist leader Mr Burrows said that Mr Trump was “never going to be a faithful friend”.
“He blows with the wind. He comes out with crackerjack statements,” he said.
Mr Burrows added: “The man comes out with mad statements. I would never cosy up to him. I think taking selfies with him, projecting him as an ally of unionism, was a strategic error.”
He claimed Mr Trump had “real issues around rationality”.
“Donald Trump is trying to appeal to the Irish American vote base because of the forthcoming primaries, we need to see his comments in that context,” he said.
“What Donald Trump says today might be different than what Donald Trump thinks tomorrow.
“He probably thought he would have won the Irish Open (golf tournament hosted at Mr Trump’s course in Doonbeg, Co Clare) had he been allowed to enter it, you know, that’s Donald Trump.
“What we need to do here is stay calm, focus on making the case for the United Kingdom, and the case for Northern Ireland being it.”
SDLP leader of the official opposition at Stormont, Matthew O’Toole, said the DUP should have “copped on a long time ago” on who it makes political allies with.
Mr O’Toole was also asked whether his party would reconsider its current boycott of White House events during St Patrick’s Day week after Mr Trump’s declaration of support for unification.
“Those are decisions we will make,” he said.
“We’ve taken a clear, principled stance around not clinking glasses with Trump and his team.
“We also do engage in the United States – and I’ll be saying more about that in the weeks to come actually.
“Clearly, there are many people in the United States who are critical to creating the peace that we have enjoyed for the last three decades, and are going to be critical to building a new Ireland.
“We want to engage them in those conversations. That doesn’t necessarily mean engaging with or enthusing about Donald Trump.
“Look, I’m not saying it’s not significant that Donald Trump has made these remarks. He’s clearly a significant person. He is clearly somebody who has significant power.
“I might wish that he wasn’t in that office, but he has said those things.
“What it proves is that this debate is out there, it is happening, and those who deny that there’s a debate about a new Ireland are kidding themselves.
“And those are the same people who, by the way, cosied up to this man for years and acted like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
“It’s embarrassing for them. I think for the rest of us, it’s a sign that this debate is there.”
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