Many residents of Ireland were not excited to see President Donald Trump arrive in their country.
Trump, 80, flew there to meet with the nation’s leaders on Sept. 12 as well as attend the Irish Open in Doonbeg.
Instead, of the warm welcome, he was met by thousands of protesters flooding the streets of Dublin and nearby, rejecting his arrival in Ireland.
Trump knew the protests were waiting for him, but he had no interest in giving them the spotlight.
On Sept. 13, a female reporter asked Trump at Trump International Golf Links whether he had seen the protests.
The POTUS ducked the protest question and turned the reporter into an unexpected Irish music reference.
“You remind me of somebody,” Trump replied, pointing his finger toward the woman. “A very cute Irish singer who passed away recently. You know who that is? Sinead!”
“You look like Sinead O’Connor,” he added. “That’s a compliment.”
Grammy Award-winning recording artist Sinéad O’Connor passed away in 2023 at age 56.
Grammy Award-winning singer Sinéad O’Connor died in 2023 at 56. In 2024, the singer’s estate called on the MAGA boss to stop using her hit song “Nothing Compares 2 U” at his rallies since she viewed Trump a “biblical devil.”
That history made the comparison even more awkward as social media critics quickly weighed in.
“Translation: “I saw the protests. I wasn’t able to enjoy my filet-o-fish because they upset me so much,” wrote one person.
Assuming he saw the protests and chose to ignore them one person said, “In other words, Natalie made sure I didn’t see it,” refering to his executive assistant Natalie Harp.
Other touched on his lapse of time, pointing out, “Recently ?? She died in 2023 .. his sense of time is so whacked.” Another critic focused on O’Connor’s political views, writing “Sinéad hated everything he stands for.”
But that was just the beginning of spectacle.
The 25,000 protesters who marched toward Ireland’s government buildings, waving anti-Trump signs and invoking the Epstein files in a fiery show of opposition was just as humiliating as one statue on the streets of Dublin.
Trump faced another embarrassing moment through a silent form of protest.
A statue shows the U.S. President emerging from a trash can on the street outside Dublin’s Teal House Gallery instead of a podium.
The grey effigy depicts him pumping his fist in the air, with an open banana perched on his head. Piles of full garbage bags surround the sculpture’s base.
“The Trash Talker” was written on the bottom of the statue that looks taller than Trump himself.
Teal House Gallery also shared several images and videos of “The Trash Talker” on Instagram, along with a message about the sculpture.
“The work looks at personality, spectacle, power, and the increasingly blurred line between politics and performance — using humor and satire to question the theatre surrounding political leadership,” the caption read.
It continued, “The work is directed at governments, political leadership and state power — not at American people or American identity. Governments are fair material.”
The statue was crafted by TinKicker, who is described as a “social-commentary artist.” The Wexford native’s viral artwork first appeared at the CAN-AL Festival in St. Mullins, Ireland, before being displayed in Dublin ahead of Trump’s arrival.
As images of statue circulated online, other social media users weighed in on Trump being portrayed as discarded waste.
“The Irish know how to bring the trash out!” exclaimed an Instagram user in the Teal House Gallery’s comment section.
Many said they loved the banana peel resting on his head while praising Irish people by writing, “The Republic of Ireland level of trolling is elite.”
Trump getting the Oscar-the-Grouch treatment amused many people online. Someone posted, “Hahaha, this is perfect because he is an absolute piece of trash!”
Trump also faced widespread protests when he traveled to Ireland during his first presidential term in 2019. The infamous “Baby Trump” blimp made an appearance in Dublin after the 20-foot-tall orange inflatable caricature first gained worldwide attention when it flew over London the previous year.
