Leo: I’ll sock it to Trump when I visit

... but it won’t be personal

LEO Varadkar has promised to speak some home truths to Donald Trump if the two men meet for the traditional shamrock summit in Washington DC next March.

But the Taoiseach declared to the Dáil yesterday that he was not going to attack the US president personally because he did not think it would change his policies.

Mr Varadkar, who often exchanges pleasantries and novelty socks with world leaders, had been urged by left-wing TDs Paul Murphy and Richard Boyd Barrett to withdraw the invitation to Ireland extended to President Trump by the Taoiseach’s predecessor, Enda Kenny.

There was no response to this call, but Mr Varadkar – who has previously said he will honour our offer to host a presidential trip to Ireland – said: ‘I disagree with a lot of President Trump’s policies.’

He added: ‘Certainly on migration, on climate change and on North Korea. But I am not going to attack him personally – I do not believe that attacking President Trump personally will bring about a change in policy.

‘And I don’t think it would benefit us as a country to do so.

‘However, if I do have the opportunity to meet him in March, it would absolutely be my intention to raise some of the concerns that we have as a country and as a Government about the (US) policy in those areas.’

In March, before he was made Taoiseach, Mr Varadkar said he would not personally have invited Mr Trump to Ireland. In June, after taking over as Head of Government, he said he would not rescind the Mr Kenny invitation. But he added that no progress had been made on the idea and there was ‘no timeline’ for such a trip.

‘It’s my intention to raise concerns’