DONALD Trump has said MMA fighter Conor McGregor is “great” when asked who his favourite Irish person is.
McGregor was accused of “battering” and “brutally raping” Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel room in 2018, and a jury in November found that the Irishman had assaulted her.
McGregor was ordered to pay Hand more than €248,000 in damages, and to pay the costs of taking the civil action against him.
Trump made the comments while in the Oval Office for a meeting with Irish premier Micheal Martin as part of St Patrick’s Day engagements.
Asked who his favourite Irish person is, Trump said there were “many”, before remarking: “I do happen to like your fighter.”
“He’s got the best tattoos I’ve ever seen,” he said, referring to McGregor.
“Conor’s great, right. But you have a lot of great Irish fighters actually, great fighters.”
Trump said: “Ireland’s always had a lot of good fighters. You know why, because they’re tough people, they’re smart people and they’re passionate people.
“I think your father was a great fighter, right?” Trump said to Martin.
“He was, yes,” Martin replied. “A very good defensive boxer. He was a good boxer, boxed for Ireland.
Later on in the Oval Office, Trump praised McIlroy as one of his favourite golfers.
“I think Rory’s great, he’s a great golfer,” he said.
“He just won two weeks ago, he’s a great guy, I played golf with him three weeks ago and he’s a really fantastic player.
“He’s in good form too, when he played with me he played very well I can tell you. Rory is certainly one of the favourites, he’s a very talented player.”
