CNN's Kerry-born reporter Donie O'Sullivan – an overnight Irish celebrity after his coverage of the US riots yesterday – has opened up about the reality on the ground in Washington DC and hit out at the "hypocrisy" of many Trump supporters.
The Cahersiveen native revealed the "surreal" nature of the last few hours and argued the situation would likely be very different if the protestors were of a different skin colour.
Donie said it's "very hard to believe" that the protests would have been allowed to get as far as they did were they being led by Black Lives Matter activists.
"I don't think it's unfair to say that we might have seen a much stronger police response," he told RTE's Today with Claire Byrne, in reference to the nature of the protests.
"This is possibly probably one of the most protected cities in the world. And for not only these demonstrators to be able to get onto the grounds, but to be able to get into the building, and then to be able to get into the chambers – just imagine rioters swinging from the lanterns in Dail Eireann.
"For that to happen in what is supposed to be one of the most secure buildings in the United States of America – it's surreal. It's beyond belief."
Donie, a graduate of University College Dublin and Queen's University Belfast, added: "This is one of the great hypocrisies of the many hypocrisies of the Trump presidency – and some Trump supporters.
"Trump has sold himself as the law-and-order president – the president who stands up for the police.
"Yesterday we saw many Trump supporters who obviously did not want to comply with anything the police were saying."
While the reporter was full of insight into the specifics of an extraordinary situation, he also found time for a charmingly self-deprecating quip, joking he's been playing himself off as a "lad in from Cahersiveen for the weekend."
