The former dual-weight UFC champion quickly grabbed the headlines after he met with Donald Trump in a visit to the White House on Monday
Conor McGregor issued a blunt six-word response to a reporter’s question in an awkward interview following the Irishman’s meeting with Donald Trump.
The 36-year-old flew into Washington for what he called the “biggest meeting of my country’s future” and met up with President Trump on Monday afternoon. After posing at the White House, the former dual-weight UFC took questions from the media about Ireland’s immigration.
But McGregor’s visit quickly sparked a backlash from Irish political leaders. Since then, more footage has emerged of McGregor’s trip to the White House as he was filmed avoiding a question from a journalist after he left his meeting with President Trump. Asked by Sky’s David Blevins to respond to the negative noise, McGregor quickly failed to address the concerns. “What do you say to people who feel it is inappropriate for you to be here given,” said Blevins. Before the reporter could finish, ‘The Notorious’ quickly interrupted, saying: “God bless Ireland, God bless America!”
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Earlier, McGregor had said: “Our money is being spent overseas, things that have nothing to do with the Irish people. Illegal immigration is ravaging our country. Rural towns where Irish have become minorities. Irish-Americans need to hear this, we need US leadership. What is going on in Ireland is a travesty.
“Our government is the government of zero action with zero accountability. Ireland and America, we are siblings. We consider America our big sibling. So it’s important for Ireland to be a peaceful, prosperous country for 40 million Irish Americans to have a place to visit, come back to their home. So we wish for our relationship with the United States to continue, and we wish to be taken care of by the big bro. The United States should look after its little bro. And that’s how we feel.”
Irish prime minister Micheal Martin was quick to respond to McGregor’s comments. In a post uploaded to X – formerly known as Twitter – he wrote: ” Conor McGregor’s remarks are wrong, and do not reflect the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland.” Deputy prime minister of Ireland Simon Harris added: “Conor McGregor is not in the US representing Ireland, he doesn’t speak for Ireland, or its people.”
When asked for his thoughts about Martin’s post, McGregor said: “I am an employer of almost 300 people in the country of Ireland, he’s an employer of none. Every available metric has shown that the government of Ireland has failed the people of Ireland. In 10 years Dublin city centre has gone from one of the safest cities in Europe to one of the most dangerous. So shame on him for saying that, speaking down on an Irishman. I won’t speak about him personally, or throw a jab – I could, I could throw many jabs at him. I speak on the metrics and the metrics show they have failed the people of Ireland and don’t represent them.”
Various individuals were quick to hit out at ‘The Notorious’ being in the limelight following the result of his trial last year. The 36-year-old was fined £200,000 last year after being found liable of assaulting a woman who accused him of rape in a Dublin hotel more than six years ago. Ms Nikita Hand accused McGregor of raping her in a penthouse at the Beacon Hotel in December 2018. Later this week, the Irishman’s appeal against the verdict in his civil case will come to court.
