Mike Pence Got Slammed by the Irish Press for Carrying Trump's Water: "How Mike Pence Shat on the New Carpet in Ireland’s Spare Room," Wrote One Irish Columnist
September 5, 2019
Mike Pence did not go over well in Ireland. (DonkeyHotey)
MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH
Ireland is an enthusiastic member of the European Union. So it was not surprising that the country was generally displeased with Mike Pence’s recent controversial visit to the land of his ancestry.
That is because Pence carried the water for Donald Trump and endorsed Boris Johnson’s unilateral withdrawal from Brexit. This did not go over well as Pence made his official remarks in front of the Taoiseach [Gaelic for president or prime minister]. According to columnist Miriam Lord of The Irish Times, in a September 3 column:
No room left for doubt. As Pence read from the autocue and Irish eyes definitely stopped smiling, it was clear he was channeling His Master’s Voice. Trump is a fan of Brexit and of Boris….
He veered off his rather gushing statement [in praise of Ireland] following his meeting with the Taoiseach into some crunching Brexit remarks about our duty to do right by Boris Johnson and the UK.
As the air in the steamy ballroom turned decidedly frosty, Pence urged Ireland and the European Union “to negotiate in good faith” with the new British prime minister.
The local crowd raised eyebrows and wondered what he thinks the aforementioned EU has been doing for the last three years, if not negotiating in good faith with the UK.
Even though Lord waggishly described Pence as “brave” for sitting down to lunch with the Taoiseach. That is because the leader of Ireland is gay and had invited his partner to join him as he ate with the vice president. of the United States, who is notoriously homophobic. Perhaps to buttress his “bravery,” Pence brought along his wife and mother to the meal.
Ireland is particularly unhappy with Brexit, in addition to economic concerns, because it would likely lead to what is known as a “hard border” between The Republic of Ireland and UK’s Northern Ireland. That is because by leaving the European Union, where there is free movement within the member nations, Ireland would be considered a country where passage would be subject to checkpoints.
The negotiation of an end to the armed conflict between the IRA and the UK, having cost thousands of lives, took place under Bill Clinton. A key feature of the agreement was open passage, or what is called a “soft border,” between Ireland and the six counties of Northern Ireland, which still remain part of the UK.
As the threat of Boris Johnson’s unilateral withdrawal from the European Union remains active(although that remains in question, given a revolt against such a move by the UK Parliament), tension has arisen around Ireland’s border with Northern Ireland. This includes a resurgence of a particular form of violence known as kneecappings. Indeed, the police chief of Northern Ireland has recently warned that a “hard border” could leave to the rise again of armed extremist groups.
It hasn’t helped that Boris Johnson’s father has made a series of disparaging remarks about the Irish, so Pence praising Johnson on behalf of his best friend forever Donald Trump left the Irish with a bad taste in their mouths.
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