Travel Report 11 - POTUS speech at Deerfield Residence

President Trump walked out to Lee Greenwood at 11:50a and stood in place on stage as the song finished and the room took photos. At the reception Trump told some jokes to the crowd, praised the Irish people, and talked about a potpourri of things ranging from Kamala Harris and the 2024 election, the border, job numbers, and Venezuelan oil.

Towards the end of the speech, Trump complained about NATO not helping in the Strait of Hormuz and said “you’ll be hearing more about that soon.”

Trump began by saying the Amb. to Ireland Ed Walsh is an excellent golfer (he’s a +2 handicap) and went on an extended talk about his game.

“He is a good golfer and never cheats. I know a lot of good golfers who cheat like hell,” Trump said.

Trump said he faced some tough questions from the press earlier including, “What do you think of unification of Ireland?”

“I said, oh, that's a nice question. I gave a nice answer, I think. We'll read about it tomorrow. That's one of those questions where no matter what you say, no matter how well you say it, there's no good answer.” Trump said it would “be a cool thing” and joked that then half the room would clear out.

Trump said he invited First Lady Melania Trump to put on a MAGA hat join him in Ireland but she declined because it’s a long flight. Trump also joked that married life had been good for Donald Trump Jr., he is “like a different human being.”

At one point the president stopped talking to note the creaking tent and quipped that Amb. Walsh is taking cost cutting too far. He said if something happened secret service would view all the VIPs in the room as “collateral damage” compared to him. He then gave a shout out to Sean Curran, the head of secret service, who and joined him on the trip.

The speech wrapped at 12:26p and we are on the move, heading back to the Dublin airport then we will be flying to Shannon to start our journey to the golf tourney. The crowd cheered when Trump told them Irish golfer Shane Lowry is currently in the lead.

Meridith McGraw

White House Reporter