Trump victory ‘greatest political comeback’, DUP leader says

DUP leader Gavin Robinson has congratulated Donald Trump on “achieving what has rightly been described as the greatest political comeback of all time”.

Trump has won the US election and will return to the White House as America’s 47th president.

In a statement, Robinson said the “divisive” election has come to a “decisive” conclusion with the American people giving “a strong mandate”.

During Trump’s last term, “many regarded his presidency as one of balance and fairness regarding our own local political divisions”, Robinson added.

“I trust he adopts the same approach to the 47th presidency as he did the 45th, and the ties between the US and Northern Ireland remain strong. I wish him well.”

Speaking on Wednesday, the First Minister Michelle O’Neill said the “American people have voted, and they have voted for President Trump.”

She wished him well in his role, but added that her “priority when it comes to engaging with the American administration is the role they play in terms of our peace process”.

SDLP leader Claire Hanna said it is “disheartening” to see that Trump’s “divisive brand of politics has been so widely endorsed”.

“Many people will be feeling low today, and I hope they will take care,” she said.

“The best response to this is to organise, and to think about the ways that we can help protect community cohesion, security, and the planet.”

TUV leader Jim Allister told the Nolan Show “Donald Trump is not everyone’s cup of tea but I think he’s better than the alternative of Harris.”

“I think he will chime with some of the issues that affect Northern Ireland.”

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said Trump’s election is “not something to be welcomed or normalised”.

“Trump’s record should be proof enough that there is nothing to gain from a relationship with him,” he said.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Simon Harris has pledged to work to “deepen and strengthen the historic and unbreakable bonds” between Ireland and the US.

He echoed comments from the DUP leader, saying “the people of the United States have spoken”.

“Ireland and the United States have deep and historical bonds of people, and we will work to make these even stronger in the years ahead,” he added.

“The world faces many challenges and needs leadership to meet them.

“With the US and Ireland’s shared commitment to democracy and international law, we can, and will, tackle these challenges.”

Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) Micheál Martin has also congratulated Trump, adding that he is looking forward to working with the new administration “in a constructive manner”.

He said regular high-level political engagement with the new US administration and on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill will be a high priority for the Irish government.

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read and before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

Accept and continue

In this most unpredictable of elections, one thing is safe to say: as he contemplates his achievement, Donald Trump is not consumed with thoughts of what it means for Northern Ireland.

So far, going by the muted reaction here, Northern Ireland and he are in agreement on that.

Unlike last time, when there was overt support for Trump from senior DUP figures like Sammy wilson and Ian Paisley, the DUP was relatively silent in the lead up to the election.

Last time there was no presidential visit, but then Stormont was suspended for most of his tenure.

However, near the end of April 2022, he did finally appoint a Special Envoy, Mick Mulvaney, though he resigned the following January in protest at the Capitol riots.

Will the outgoing envoy Joe Kennedy be replaced is question number one.

And so, along with the rest of the world, we wait to see what’s coming.

But make no mistake, we are well down any queue.