In a meeting with Ireland’s prime minister, President Trump gave no hint of backing down from actions that have caused fissures in the trans-Atlantic alliance.
President Trump hosted Micheál Martin, the prime minister of Ireland, at the White House on Wednesday, with an escalating trade dispute with Europe hovering over the usual pomp and circumstance.
Official Washington, dappled in green, feted Mr. Martin at the traditional visit ahead of St. Patrick’s Day. But Mr. Trump gave no hint of backing down from actions that have caused fissures in the trans-Atlantic alliance.
In the Oval Office, Mr. Trump, seated next to Mr. Martin, railed against the European Union’s trade policies and regulation of American companies.
“The European Union treats us very badly, and they have for years,” he said.
Mr. Martin largely took a back seat during the meeting, seeking to avoid the fireworks that erupted at the White House two weeks ago when Mr. Trump rebuked President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, casting him as ungrateful for U.S. aid.
Here are three takeaways from Mr. Martin’s visit.
The president showed no signs of changing course on tariffs.
The stock market has declined. Top business leaders are privately complaining. And even some Republicans are voicing concern. But Mr. Trump said on Wednesday that he had no plans to change his strategy on sweeping tariffs.
In fact, Mr. Trump suggested that he might institute steeper levies after the European Union announced billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs.