Dublin
On foreign land but home turf, Donald Trump presented the Irish Open trophy to Shane Lowry at the president’s Doonbeg golf course. He also presented a farewell gift: the elimination of tariffs on Irish whiskey.
“I want to mention one thing. Taoiseach and I talked about it, and Shane talked about it, and everybody’s been bugging me. They’re saying, ‘Would you do me a favor? It’s so unfair what’s going on. Could you possibly take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey?’” Trump said.
“And I said, on behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off,” Trump continued, as the crowd erupted.
While not a drinker himself, Trump presented the show of good faith at the end of his quick visit to Ireland — where he made controversial comments voicing support for Irish unification, met with Irish President Catherine Connolly and Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and became the first sitting president to attend the Irish Open.
Irish whiskey faces a 10% tariff, the Trump administration imposed on most imports from the European Union. The president made a similar concession after King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit in April, removing tariffs on UK whiskey, which includes Scotch.
CNN has reached out to the US trade representative for more information, including when the tariffs will be removed.
Simon Harris, Ireland’s deputy prime minister and its minister of finance, said the tariff removal is “a welcome announcement of economic significance” that “reflects the very positive engagement we’ve had with the US administration on tariffs over the 18 months.”
“Our producers deserve certainty and stability as they continue to grow their businesses and compete in markets around the world,” Harris wrote on X.
After Trump’s meetings in Dublin on Saturday, the news was dominated by his support for Irish unification, a controversial issue, while Sunday, he turned the attention to whiskey tariffs.
Trump said Saturday that he discussed trade with Martin at their bilateral meeting and emphasized the US’ “big relationship with Ireland,” which he said will “continue stronger than ever.”
The relationship between the two countries was also something Martin emphasized during his own remarks at the trophy presentation.
“The Trump family in particular have invested very heavily in the recent decade in this golf course, making it an exceptional and one of the great key golf courses now anywhere in the world,” Martin said of Doonbeg, and it was Trump who presented the trophy to the winning Irishman.
“In many ways, the last four days reflects also the very strong relationship, the strength of an enduring relationship between the United States of America and Ireland. We are tied together by history, by family, by friendship,” he added.
During Trump’s trip, the president was far removed from the streets, where protests broke out Saturday in Dublin and in the Doonbeg and Shannon area. He spent the weekend at his own golf club — greeted with chants of “U-S-A” in the packed members bar on Saturday night and cheered on while presenting the trophy on Sunday.
“We’re so proud of the whole Doonbeg, and, frankly, Ireland itself has been so incredible, so inviting,” Trump said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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