Micheál Martin should have stood up for Europe

A single word in support of our EU partners would have reassured them that Ireland gets it, but none was forthcoming

Taoiseach Micheál Martin with US president Donald Trump in the White House: For some, the fact Micheál Martin avoided being upbraided or mistreated in the Oval Office was a success in itself. Pictures: Tasos Katopodis / Government of Ireland

Donald Trump is a bully who looks for weakness and takes what he can. His conduct during press conferences is a mixture of vanity and menace. As the leader of a small state coming to the Oval Office, you could forgive Taoiseach Micheál Martin for not wishing to offend this most thin-skinned of presidents. 

The problem for the Taoiseach is that he was meeting the president just hours after Trump had started a trade war with the European Union, announcing tariffs of 25 per cent on US imports of steel and aluminium products.