On Tuesday, the White House was the venue of the annual Shamrock Bowl as President Donald Trump received Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin. Trump said that he has Irish “blood,” even though there is no concrete evidence that the U.S. leader has Irish descent. He also said that there are more Irish people in the United States than in Ireland.
The St. Patrick’s Day tradition, which started in 1952, commemorates the bond between the U.S. and Ireland that has endured through the centuries. Trump talked about the significance of the event to him. In his speech at the Shamrock Bowl, the U.S. leader said, “It’s always been a special time, even for me it’s a special time. I feel like I have Irish blood.”
🚨FULL EVENT: President Trump and Taoiseach Martin participate in a bilateral meeting at the White House on St. Patrick’s Day – 03/17/26 pic.twitter.com/7bF4ZmrEoH
— AJ Huber (@Huberton) March 17, 2026
He said, “Not too far, I have Scottish blood. Is that good or bad? I don’t know.” The president said the U.S. has five times as many Irish people as the population of Ireland. Trump added that the Irish leader should feel at home in the U.S., as many things in the U.S. are Irish. He said, “The Taoiseach is far from the Emerald Isle but should feel at home here as so many things are Irish. We have five times as many Irish in our beautiful country than you have on your wonderful island.”
Later, at a White House briefing, Trump said he has spent plenty of time in Europe, and also said, “I love Europe. It’s a different place. Bad, bad things have happened to Europe. Very bad things,” as reported by The Irish Star.
The Irish leader, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, is the taoiseach of Ireland, the chief executive of the Irish government. He reacted to the U.S. leader by stating positive statistics about population and economic growth. He said, “Our economy is going well because we’re attracting a lot of people from Europe and beyond into work legally and validly in our country.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin refuted the notion that Europe is being overwhelmed by migration. He based his argument on the existence of robust and well-structured legal migration channels in Europe. At an event earlier Tuesday, Taoiseach Martin and his wife attended a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast with the vice president and second lady. During the event, JD Vance referred to Ireland as an important economic and trade partner for the United States.
“Donny Boy…”
Bagpipes play as President Donald Trump departs from a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Irish PM Micheál Martin at the U.S. Capitol. pic.twitter.com/o5QuW3MNNk
— Nathan Worcester (@nnworcester) March 17, 2026
The picture of President Donald Trump and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, taken during events at the White House on Tuesday, may have subtly raised questions about Donald Trump’s height. Trump and Martin addressed the press during a joint news conference, in which they discussed Europe’s immigration policies.
From the picture, in which Trump and Martin stood next to each other, it appeared that the prime minister was two inches taller than Trump, as the prime minister’s height, 5 feet 10 inches, contradicts Trump’s previously claimed height of 6 feet 3 inches, according to the White House.
