U.S. President Donald Trump made comments for the second straight day indicating he supports Northern Ireland separating from the United Kingdom and unifying with Ireland. He also raised the issue of Scottish independence, continuing remarks likely to be sensitive for the British government.
Visiting Ireland, Trump on the 13th (local time) told reporters at the Irish Open held at his golf course in Doonbeg in the west that "there is Northern Ireland and there is Ireland, and I think bringing the two together is one of the most natural things."
This reiterated the same position after he suggested in Dublin, the Irish capital, the previous day that he supports Northern Ireland separating from the U.K. and unifying with Ireland.
Trump also left room on the question of Scottish independence.
He said, "I was asked about Scotland as well, but I won't talk about that yet," adding, "I'll save it for later."
On the first day of his visit to Ireland, on the 12th, Trump also said after a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin that "Northern Ireland separating from the U.K. would be a wonderful thing." He repeated similar arguments in a speech at the U.S. Embassy residence in Ireland afterward.
Whether Northern Ireland remains in the U.K. is a sensitive political and diplomatic issue in both the U.K. and Ireland. The United States has officially maintained a neutral position on Northern Ireland's status.
For that reason, Trump's successive remarks are being taken as a message at odds with the United States' previous diplomatic stance, stirring controversy in the U.K. and Ireland.
Scottish independence is also a sensitive issue for the U.K. In Scotland, a 2014 referendum on independence failed, but after Brexit, the push for independence regained momentum, remaining a source of conflict between the Scottish devolved government and the U.K. central government.
The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.