During a visit to Ireland, President Donald Trump expressed his wish to see the country unified. The Republic of Ireland gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1922, while Northern Ireland, established in 1921, remains part of the U.K.

“I don’t want to cause any problems, but I will tell you, I’d love to see it unified. I have friends on both sides, great people. They’re Irish people. How can they be bad, right?” Trump stated in Dublin alongside Ireland’s Prime Minister, Micheál Martin. He added, “I’d like to see a unified country. I think it would be a great feather in everybody’s cap if that happened. It’s going to happen eventually.” Trump acknowledged the U.K.’s role in such a decision but reiterated his belief that unification would be beneficial.

Later that day, Trump addressed an audience at Deerfield Residence, the U.S. ambassador’s official residence in Ireland. U.S. Ambassador Edward S. Walsh introduced him as he took the stage to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.”

Revisiting an earlier question about Irish reunification, Trump stated, “That’s one of those questions where no matter what you say, no matter how well you say it, there’s no good answer, right?” He characterized reunification as a “cool thing.”

The topic of Irish unification has long been a contentious issue on the island. From the late 1960s to the late 1990s, Northern Ireland experienced intense sectarian violence referred to as “the Troubles.” During this period, more than 3,500 people were killed in clashes involving Irish republican and loyalist paramilitary groups and British security forces.

Irish nationalists and republicans, mainly from Northern Ireland’s Catholic minority, sought a united Irish state. In contrast, unionists and loyalists, predominantly Protestant, wanted to maintain Northern Ireland’s status as part of the U.K.