Ireland - Scandal As PM Varadkar “Sympathizes With Trump On Media Attacks”

Shock in Ireland after it was reported that the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Mr Leo Varadkar had stated during a New York luncheon that he ‘sympathizes with US Donald Trump in his attacks on the media’.

After it was reported by the Times and Irish Times when Mr Varadkar was asked about the US President’s current war with the media, he stated that this was one of the ‘few issues he could sympathise with Trump about and that the media was not interested in the truth but in the story,’ the parliament went into uproar.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">To be clear, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Trump</a> called the media “enemy of the people”. He’s wrong. If Taoiseach really sympathises with that view, he’s wrong too. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PressFreedom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PressFreedom</a><a href="https://t.co/mMmHyd7SSF">https://t.co/mMmHyd7SSF</a></p>&mdash; Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) <a href="https://twitter.com/WilliamsJon/status/1014397920051900416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2018</a></blockquote>

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A spokesman for his cabinet has since explained that Mr Varadkar and the guests “shared a wide-ranging discussion. This conversation is now being quoted selectively and out of context. The Taoiseach believes that a free, fair and balanced press is a cornerstone of our democracy.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says he &quot;profoundly regrets if anyone in the country thinks in any way that he does not support a free press&quot; <a href="https://t.co/osog6RmQmK">pic.twitter.com/osog6RmQmK</a></p>&mdash; RTÉ News (@rtenews) <a href="https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/1014470828568731649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Mr Varadkar, the first openly gay prime minister of Ireland, has on recent occasions expressed his sympathy for US President Donald Trump and claimed he even understood some of his more controversial policies.

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He had travelled to New York to launch Ireland’s bid for a seat at the United Nations security council.

The Sinn Féin leader, a member of the opposition in the Irish parliament, Ms Mary Lou McDonald, urged Mr Varadkar to explain himself: “The comments were very odd. It seems that when the taoiseach goes to America he seems to lose the run of himself.

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“They were very serious blanket criticisms of the media. It’s very serious that the head of government would launch such an attack in such an indiscriminate way.”

The government’s finance minister, Mr Paschal Donohoe, speaking on Mr Varadkar’s behalf, claims it is all a misunderstanding and that the PM “unreservedly supports the operation and function of the media” within local democracy.

“It’s an absolutely essential element in how our country conducts itself. It’s essential that we have a free and independent media that can report on what is happening in our country and scrutinize and evaluate and hold politicians to account.

Source:

http://www.thejournal.ie/leo-varadkar-trump-2-4107280-Jul2018/