Trump visit cancelled: A lucky escape for Government

Though it would naturally be denied, there must have been a palpable sense of relief at the highest levels of Government when it was announced yesterday that US President Donald Trump had changed his plans to visit Ireland in November though not definitively.

No matter how it was presented, such a visit would have been the diplomatic engagement from hell. An unhinged president, who, if his tax policies succeed, would suck thousands of jobs from this country, could hardly expect the red carpet that’s usually rolled out, and hopefully will be again, for a visiting US president.