Gordon Lyons urged to ensure no public money is used to celebrate Donald Trump

Stormont Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has been urged to ensure no public money is spent “celebrating Donald Trump”.

Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole made the plea at the Northern Ireland Assembly just weeks before Mr Lyons, along with deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, attends events at the White House for St Patrick’s Day.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill, her party Sinn Fein and the SDLP have indicated they will not attend events at the White House in protest at the handling of events in Gaza.

Mr Lyons said the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence “represents a once in a generation opportunity to strengthen political, cultural, economic and community links” between Northern Ireland and the United States.

He told the Assembly on Tuesday that he has provided £426,000 to partners and community organisations for projects to celebrate the contribution settlers from Northern Ireland made in the foundation of the US.

Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole said while he supported celebrating the links between Ireland and the US, “no one migrated from Northern Ireland because it didn’t exist in the 18th century”.

“Of those Ulster Scots who made their place in the United States, and built that Republic free from the Crown, people like Andrew Jackson, Chester Alan Arthur, Benjamin Franklin, they were by definition republicans, they believed in democracy with citizens independent under the law, they did not believe in Donald Trump and the autocracy he is building,” he said.

“Will you guarantee that no public money will be spent celebrating the corrupt Donald Trump, and will be spent on the historic links between this place and the United States.”

Mr Lyons responded: “Get over it.

“There are some people out there that are determined to highlight the fact that yes, this was the independence of the United States, yes there were differences of course with Britain at that time. That’s OK, we’ve gotten over it, he should too.

“What I’m trying to do is highlight the importance of the role played by those that left these shores, left Ulster, whatever term he wants to use, and I want to make sure that we’re highlighting that.

“That helps us to build links with the United States, it gives us another hook for us to make sure that people are interested, so I’m unashamed in doing this, not only because of the economic benefits that can come from this, but we’re also investing in cultural, arts and musical organisations as well.”

In terms of President Trump, Mr Lyons added: “I will take different views with different people who sit in the White House.

“I visited the White House when Joe Biden was president, when Joe Biden oversaw the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan that has left another generation subjugated under the rule of the Taliban.

“I strongly disagree, I’m sure, on many points, with many different US presidents, but I’m not there to engage just with the current administration but wider business leaders and those involved in culture and the arts as well.

“I will be proud to represent Northern Ireland, I’ll be proud to go out to show it, to stand up, to speak up for Northern Ireland, and I wish that others would welcome that and do the same.”