US President Donald Trump's two-day visit to Ireland has caused a major international stir. On the first day alone, his remark expressing a desire to see a unified Ireland became the main global headline. The shockwaves of his comments rippled through the island and Great Britain, leaving many to wonder whether this represented a new US administration policy or simply an off-the-cuff remark from a president who likes to take questions.

Former Republican Congressman Mick Mulvaney, who served as Trump's special envoy to Northern Ireland during his first term, cautioned against reading too much into the president's remarks. "This does not represent a shift in US foreign policy," he said. "We're still very much committed to the Good Friday Agreement." Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle agreed, stating that there is bipartisan support for the deal and that it will not change.

Although both agreed that Trump was probably right to say that "eventually" unification would happen, that did not mean the US was about to start pushing for it. Trump repeated his sentiments a short time later when delivering a speech to an invited audience at the US Ambassador's residence. In fact, it was almost the first thing he mentioned, hinting that he may have realized he had kicked over a can of worms earlier.

The rest of that speech was curious. Billed as a 20-minute address to Irish and Irish American business leaders, it lasted about twice that and strayed largely into domestic US matters. Trump has a speaking style he describes as "the weave." He can bounce from topic to topic, veering off script and then returning to the matter at hand. Today he lauded his own achievements, such as clamping down on illegal immigration, doing deals, and boosting defense production. He repeated his criticisms of what he views as the UK's lack of support for his military operation in Iran.

But who was his target audience? The gathered business leaders in Dublin or a US audience tuning in before dawn? This November's crunch midterm elections are fast approaching, and the Republican party is under intense pressure because of the president's policies. They may lose control of one or both houses of Congress. About one tenth of the US population claim Irish heritage, but they are not a homogeneous voting bloc.

Was he trying to target Irish-American independent or swing voters in the US, many of whom have flip-flopped between the Republican and Democratic parties in recent years? Some of them do support a unified Ireland, and in this time of chasing every vote, perhaps that played a part. Bill Clinton secured a lot of Irish-American support when he was running for president by promising to get engaged in the peace process. They voted for him, and he followed through on his promise, leading to the foundations of the Good Friday Agreement.

But Irish America is a different place now. Indeed, America is a different place now as politics have become more polarized. The November election campaigns show no indication that will change anytime soon. Political leaders in Ireland will be hoping the only debate tomorrow is about the play on the golf course.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk