There has been an intense focus on what US president Donald Trump might say to Taoiseach Micheál Martin when they meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
But as seen in recent meetings with world leaders, Trump tends to surround himself with senior ministers and advisers, who can also play a key role. Some are known to express strong opinions on trade deficits and Ireland’s economy, and, of course, Ukraine.
It is not clear who will be present in the Oval Office for the meeting between the Taoiseach and the US president this time, or who Martin may meet during his time in the White House. Here are the key players:
JD Vance
The vice-president played a key role in the controversial meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He did say in his 2016 memoir that “to understand me, you must understand that I am a Scots-Irish hillbilly at heart,” and that he identifies with working class Scots-Irish Americans, a smaller group than Irish-Americans. They left Scotland, settled as part of the Ulster plantation and then moved on to North America, many in the early 18th century. Vance is to host the traditional vice-president’s breakfast with the Taoiseach on Wednesday, the day he goes on to the Oval Office. Vance has hit out against Europe in a recent speech, saying its governments ignore voter concerns over migration and free speech. He had previously criticised Ireland’s proposed hate speech laws. His views on Europe’s low level of defence spending could see Ireland in the spotlight.
[ What experts expect to happen when Micheál Martin meets Donald Trump this weekOpens in new window ]
Howard Lutnik
The US commerce secretary, regularly seen behind Trump as he signs executive orders relating to economic issues, has specifically criticised Ireland on a number of occasions in relation to trade with the US. He wrote on social media network X (formerly Twitter) last October that “it’s nonsense that Ireland of all places runs a trade surplus at our expense”. The Irish surplus is part of an overall EU trade surplus with the US that has drawn Trump’s ire and led to the threat of heavy tariffs – or import taxes – on EU goods entering the US. Lutnik, a former Canor Fitzgerald banker, is one of the chief proponents of these tariffs.
Scott Bessent
The US treasury secretary is on of the most powerful figures in the Trump administration. A former hedge fund manager, he is seen by some as a possible balance to the more extreme views of some of his colleagues on tariffs. However, he recently supported the government’s policy, saying that while tariffs might lead to a “a one-time price adjustment” they could achieve other important goals.
Peter Navarro
An economist who worked with Trump the last time around, he is now the senior counsellor – or adviser – to the president on trade and manufacturing. He is also a strong proponent of tariffs to deal with the issue of the US trade deficit. Talking about a study now under way by US officials, who are due to report to the president next month, he said that the US is going to look at all its trading partners “starting with the ones with which we run the biggest deficits with, find out if they are cheating the American people and if they are we are going to take measures to correct that wrong.” On the US measure, Ireland is the country with which the US has the fourth largest deficit worldwide. So we will be in Navarro’s sights, particularly as the US considers who to hit with hits so-called reciprocal tariffs policy, which Navarro has said is definitely on the way.
Marco Rubio
The US secretary of state has been a constant at Trump’s Oval Office meetings with world leaders but looks likely to miss the meeting the Taoiseach as he is in Saudi Arabia until Wednesday with Ukrainian counterparts for talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. While less outspoken than Vance, the secretary of state has strongly held pro-Israeli views and has also been critical of European defence spending. However, it is a recent telephone call with Tánaiste Simon Harris which created a bit of a fuss. A readout of the call from the US State Department said that the two men had discussed the US “ trade imbalance” with Ireland – in other words, the fact that the US imports a lot more from Ireland than it sells in this market. Harris denied that this came up in the talks. Either way, the issue is clearly on the US radar and could come up. Martin plans to tell Trump that there is a “two-way street” of investment between the US and Ireland in response to any attempt by the US side to raise a trade imbalance between the two countries as an issue.
