The leader of the far-right party Reform UK, Nigel Farage, has responded to the statements of the U.S. president, Donald Trump, who expressed support for the reunification of Ireland, despite it being a "proud part of the United Kingdom."
"Northern Ireland is a proud and integral part of the United Kingdom. The people of Northern Ireland neither want a referendum nor unification. I disagree with President Trump," Farage stated in a message shared on social media, clearly marking distances with the American leader.
In parallel, the main unionist formations in Northern Ireland have also expressed their rejection of any plan for reunification with the Republic of Ireland. "President Trump knows better than most that elections matter. The constitutional future of Northern Ireland will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not statements from London, Dublin, or Washington," affirmed the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Gavin Robinson. "Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom because it is the democratic agreement of its people," he added.
From Traditional Unionist Voice, they have insisted that Trump "is not the first U.S. president to meddle in matters that do not concern him" and have criticized any attempt to instrumentalize the region. "Northern Ireland is not a pawn in Trump's war with the United Kingdom. Our constitutional future does not depend on him or any other foreign dignitary," emphasized the leader of TUV, Jim Allister.
For his part, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Jon Burrows, admitted that Trump "has the right to express his point of view on the constitutional future of any other country like anyone else in the world, but the only will that counts is that of the people of Northern Ireland." "It is the principle of consent, enshrined in law through the Belfast Agreement," he emphasized, recalling the current legal framework.
Trump, from Dublin, had stated that he would "love" a potential unification of the island of Ireland, although he acknowledged that the United Kingdom would have "something to say" about it, words that have provoked a firm response from Northern Irish unionism and figures like Farage.