Trump backed Brexit "over failed planning for Dublin golf course"

This is according to former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace, who recently recalled a bizarre lunch he once had with the US president.

Wallace served as the defence secretary from 2019 to 2023, meeting Trump during this time at a NATO conference hosted in the UK.

He explained that an impromptu lunch took place at the conference, with former UK deputy prime minister Dominic Raab and "some of the Baltic states" in attendance.

Wallace told "The Crisis Room" podcast that Trump entered the room and greeted them with an unusual exchange.

Wallace said: "He (Trump) came in and he signed a menu card and he handed it to one of the prime ministers and said 'You can sell that on eBay'."

Amber Rudd, former UK home secretary and co-host of the podcast, gasped in amazement at the exchange and laughed sarcastically: "What charm."

Wallace went on to share some of the discussion topics from the lunch, including an eyebrow-raising comment from Trump about his decision to support Brexit.

Wallace explained that he had been a "remainer", while Raab had been a ‘leaver’ in the Brexit debate and that they just gave Trump "stock answers" about how the ordeal was turning out for people in the UK.

The former defence secretary remarked that he will "never forget" Trump’s words as he told the group why he thought Britain were "right" to leave the EU.

Trump asked Wallace: "Do you like golf?", and told him that he had been trying to build one of the "best golf resorts in the world" near Dublin.

However, European environmental legislation "killed it" and that was why Trump decided to support Brexit.

The US president, of course, already has a golf course in Ireland, with Doonbeg controversially hosting the Irish Open this year.

2

Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Doonbeg Ireland,

The Co Clare course is hosting the competition for the first time, though many Trump critics have expressed their distaste with the arrangement.

This week, the 79-year-old’s son, Eric Trump, claimed to the Irish Independent that "probably all of Ireland" wants Trump to be in attendance at the Irish Open.

Eric also shared that he is dreaming of a Trump Tower in Dublin, which would undoubtedly spark a fair few reactions in the capital.

Check out a clip from "The Crisis Room" here:

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.