Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach's predecessor, famously and to his later embarrassment when he was elected, described the comments of Donald Trump as racist and dangerous. He has been in power for almost a year and the evidence has piled up that it is not just his comments which are racist and dangerous but that the man himself is racist, sexist and dangerous. Does the Taoiseach agree? In recent months he spoke at a rally where he called on NFL bosses to fire American football players such as Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee in protest against the killing of black Americans by the police. He said, "Get that son of a B off the field right now. He is fired. He is fired". In the aftermath of Charlottesville, a violent protest by far-right and fascist forces which saw the murder of Heather Heyer, President Trump said that there was blame on many sides. He went on to describe the anti-fascist protestors as very, very violent.

He continues to push with the so-called Muslim ban being blocked by protests and courts and he threatened North Korea with fire and fury, illustrating what a dangerous man he is in the most powerful political position in the world. Does the Taoiseach not agree that instead of an invitation and encouragement he needs public criticism? Surely it would send a very powerful signal if an invitation was to be withdrawn with an explanation for its withdrawal? Or will the Taoiseach continue to put forward a false perception of economic interests, a craven approach to US multinationals and imperialism before human rights and the environment?

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