Key figures in the Trump administration and Congress embraced their Irish roots this week in honor of St Patrick’s Day, the annual celebration of either a rich heritage and tradition, if you’re Irish, or a broad caricature of that heritage and tradition if you’re one of the millions of Americans planning ahead for a monstrous hangover on Saturday morning.
At a dinner for the Ireland Fund held in Washington on Wednesday, vice-president Mike Pence delivered a speech about his own Irish ancestry, reflecting on how his grandfather emigrated to the United States in 1923. Pence told guests at the dinner: “I can’t imagine what the sight of the Statue of Liberty meant to him that day, holding aloft the torch of freedom.”
The speech was reportedly as moving as it was lacking in self-awareness, given Pence’s position as the second most powerful man in an administration determined to prevent future immigrants from beholding the statue that presumably meant so much to his grandfather.
The South Lawn fountain in front of the White House was dyed green on Thursday in honor of a visit by Ireland’s prime minister, Enda Kenny, a ritual dating back to 1956 which really picked up steam under Bill Clinton. Trump greeted the prime minister by reading what he claimed was his favorite Irish proverb, which turned out to be a poem no one in Ireland had ever heard of, and marked the occasion with a tweeted video set to the tune of Amazing Grace, whose lyrics and music are both thought to have been written by Englishmen.
An honor to welcome the Taoiseach of Ireland, @EndaKennyTD to the @WhiteHouse today with @VP Pence. 🇺🇸🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/J3iTl2iSiQ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2017
Reports that Trump insists that “a very reliable source” has informed him that the hymn was in fact written by James Joyce, and that he will provide evidence supporting this claim sometime next week, or maybe the House and Senate intelligence committees will, could not be confirmed at time of going to press.
Top congressional Republican Paul Ryan also got in on the fun by offering a toast, during which he mangled the pronunciation of the Gaelic word for “health” and sipped from a pitifully flat pint of Guinness.
First Mike Pence says 'top of the morning', then Paul Ryan holds up this appalling pint, grave missteps by the US pic.twitter.com/U4ktqf0Aag
— Naomi O'Leary (@NaomiOhReally) March 16, 2017
For his part, press secretary Sean Spicer has been excitedly referencing his Irish heritage for weeks now, working through every possible pronunciation of the word “taoiseach” and appearing yesterday wearing a green necktie. The Guardian cannot confirm that he used Kenny’s visit to broker permission to use Liam Neeson’s catchphrase “I have a very particular set of skills, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you” during his daily berating of the press at the White House briefing from now on.
