Donald Trump’s plan to visit Ireland for the first time since he took office has been canceled. The Irish government on Tuesday announced this information citing it on scheduling. However, White House did not immediately confirm the cancellation. From a source Whitehouse was still finalizing plans for Trump’s Europe tour in November.
Trump had announced earlier in August of travelling to Ireland as part of a trip to attend the Nov. 11 commemoration in Paris of the 100th anniversary of the armistice that saw the ending World War One.
Various groups announced they would be staging protests during Donald Trump’s visit. This is in Dublin capital and his golf resort in the west coast village of Doonbeg where he had been expected to visit.
“The proposed visit of the U.S. president is postponed,” an Irish government spokesman told Reuters. “The U.S. side has cited scheduling reasons.”
Sarah Sanders, Whitehouse spokeswoman told reporters that no final decision had been reached. White House has not yet come up with a conclusive decision on this Ireland trip.
“The president will travel to Paris in November as previously announced. We are still finalizing whether Ireland will be a stop on that trip,” Sanders said in a statement. “As details are confirmed we will let you know.”
Leo Varadkar, Irish Prime minister, who as a cabinet minister opposed extending an invitation to Trump before changing his mind when he became prime minister, had described the trip as coming “a little bit out of the blue”, but argued on the essence of respecting the office of the U.S. president.
Ireland’s opposition Green Party, which had earlier opposed Trump visit, described the announcement and following cancellation as “erratic”