12 September 2026
SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP has said Donald Trump’s intervention on Irish unity demonstrates just how far the conversation about Ireland’s constitutional future has shifted. Hanna said that while there is little common ground between the SDLP and the US President, the fact that even Trump is now alert to the prospect of constitutional change should concentrate minds in Dublin, London and closer to home.
Claire Hanna MP said:
"There won't be many times when Donald Trump and I arrive at the same political conclusion, and I deplore much of what he stands for. But that is precisely why this intervention is worth noticing. When even Donald Trump has clocked that Irish unity is no longer some distant or theoretical prospect, it tells you something about just how far this conversation has shifted.
"Building a New Ireland is no longer something that can be dismissed as a remote aspiration or indefinitely parked for another generation. More and more people are asking what change could look like and are prepared to listen to the answers. The question now is how we prepare for it and, crucially, how we make it work for everybody who shares this island.
"Donald Trump doesn’t get a vote, of course, and neither does any other outside figure. This decision belongs to the people of Ireland, north and south, through the democratic framework secured in the Good Friday Agreement. That means persuading people, answering legitimate questions and listening to those who are curious or sceptical, not just talking among those of us who already believe in constitutional change.
"There is something fairly extraordinary about this particular US President standing in Dublin and talking openly about Irish unity. Nobody should mistake that for an endorsement of his politics, but nor should they miss what it says about ours.
"A New Ireland isn’t just on the table, it’s on the move. Politics now needs to catch up, not by plucking dates from the air or waving the flag harder, but by doing the work and ensuring Dublin and London are seriously preparing for the future that lies ahead for this place."