Irish journalist on why Ireland will remain at the ‘mercy’ of Donald Trump

Richard Chambers has explained why he believes Ireland will continue to be at the ‘mercy’ of decisions made by US President Donald Trump.

The Virgin Media News journalist examines the changing dynamics in the relationship between Ireland and the United States of America in his new documentary.

"Make Ireland Great Again" was filmed on Capitol Hill during the St. Patrick’s Day period, and inspects the long-standing ties Ireland has with the States.

Speaking to Extra.ie this week, the journalist conceded that the power dynamic between Ireland and the US was "really, really interesting."

"It’s something that we always are very quick to pat ourselves on the back about the fact that we have this access to the US President every year; that we get to go to the Oval Office; that we have the Shamrock ceremony," he said.

"It is very important when so much of our economy is dependent on American companies; when so much of our jobs here are with American companies as well — and so many Irish businesses working in the States, which we don’t talk about as much."

Richard noted it was a "two-way street economically," conceding that it was "difficult" for the Irish Government to push back with Donald Trump due to the "bad outcomes" that has had for other figureheads.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have all be "cast aside" by Trump.

Richard went on to note that an "interesting" part of his documentary was how aware Irish-American Republicans on Capitol Hill were of the political situation in Ireland.

"This generation loves Ireland culturally and historically, but they don’t like the direction that Irish politics is in," the journalist detailed.

March 17, 2026: Taoiseach Micheál Martin and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at The White House. (RollingNews.ie)

As for the role Donald Trump as President of America has for Irish citizens, Richard touched on the recent fuel controversy.

"All this comes down to the war in Iran, a war which even some of the President’s closest advisors, and his biggest supporters said was unnecessary," Richard told Extra.ie.

"We are so dependent on international energy markets for our electricity prices; for the fuel we put in our cars… We saw the uproar that caused in this country over the last number of weeks and months, and that does result from decisions made by the US President."

The Virgin Media star added that Irish politicians have no say in those decisions, meaning "we will always be at the mercy of the whims of what happens, or what decisions the man at the Oval Office takes."

Richard concluded that this highlighted why it was so important for Irish people to "continue to monitor," and for Irish journalists to continue making the trips over to the US.

"Ireland is trying to move towards renewable energy; towards better public transport… these things are going to continue being issues, and we’re going to continue to be at the mercy of the global energy markets, and global financial markets as a result of what the US President does."

You can watch "Make Ireland Great Again" via Virgin Media News here:

*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.