Stunning ignorance: Trump compares Irish border to U.S. border with Mexico

[PA Democrat]

During his meeting yesterday with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, Trump made some truly stupid remarks about Brexit and the Ireland/ Northern Ireland border.

Tearing down border checkpoints between Ireland and Northern Ireland helped to end decades of deadly conflict in the North. The fear is that the emergence of a hard border, once Northern Ireland leaves the European Union along with the rest of the United Kingdom, could both disrupt close trade relationships and reignite violence.

Trump compared the Irish border, which politicians are striving to keep invisible, to the U.S. southern border, where he has pledged to build a wall of steel.

“It will all work out very well, also for you, with your wall, your border,” he said. “We have a border situation in the United States, and you have one over here.”

Varadkar, sitting beside him, pushed back: “I think one thing we want to avoid, of course, is a wall or border between us.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/in-ireland-trump-downplays-border-situation-before-heading-to-his-golf-course/2019/06/05/5b63806c-87b4-11e9-9d73-e2ba6bbf1b9b_story.html?utm_term=.311f1ad36061

[dubyadiprecession]

1. Trump and ignorance goes well to together ..

Like shit and toilet paper.

[Javaman]

2. if it wasn't for his apparent abject stupidity, his comments from any other person...

would have caused an international incident.

fucking moron.

[PA Democrat]

3. I was in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in August of 2018

and there are deep and widespread concerns about Brexit on both sides of the border. People are very worried about the impact on the economy, with Northern Ireland predicted to suffer the most negative impact. The biggest fear is that a hard border would most likely reignite the sectarian violence that for the most part ended with the Good Friday Agreement.

Trump was already very unpopular in Ireland and I doubt his moronic comments will improve the Irish people's opinions of him.

[Wounded Bear]

4. It is undoubtedly the biggest potential falshpoint in the whole Brexit saga...

After all the years of violence over that border and what it means, a few years of peaceful interactions seem likely to fade back into the "Troubles."

Trump achieved his main goal, anyway. He pumped a shitload of government money into his failing golf resort.

[Javaman]

5. I honestly wonder if N.I. will part ways with England after they jump off the brexit cliff...

what do you think?

[PA Democrat]

7. I honestly don't know.

The demographics in N.I. have been steadily shifting and I believe there will soon be a Catholic majority. But it remains to be seen what would happen if there was a vote to reunite with the Republic of Ireland. I guess there are many economic issues that would complicate reunification. Good article here in the Irish Times:

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/a-united-ireland-would-be-worse-off-than-the-republic-1.3010177

[Javaman]

10. that was a very interesting article. Thanks.

the similarities between NI and Germany unification seem to be similar but different.

Where as East Germany didn't have a capitalistic base, NI does. I would think that if they were to reunify, the unifying pains that Germany experienced would be offset in NI due to it already being a capitalistic trading partner with the rest of the EU.

What is a stake, if they were to reunify, is to restructure the trade basis of NI. Ireland would need to figure the best way a unified Ireland could maximize NI's trade out put to offset any set back it might feel by basically losing southern Ireland as a trading market. I think if that could be figured out, the issue with the pension liability could be recouped gradually, but setting aside a small percentage of their trade income and put it into a pension fund to slowly fix any short fall. But like with Germany, that process would be very gradual and would take time as they grow their trade.

but what do I know, people with much bigger brains than I will have trouble figuring this out if it happens.

Fascinating to witness though.

[FakeNoose]

6. I'm sure the Irish are laughing at him

[Scurrilous]

8. What an idiot.

[ProudLib72]

9. Well wait just a minute. Who is going to pay for their wall?

Maybe King Donald of Orange?

[Cha]

11. Who feeds him his Stupid lines.. or

does his miniscule brain just fart them out?

[treestar]

12. "a border situation"