'He shat on the new carpet': Mike Pence accused of humiliating and betraying hosts during his visit to Ireland

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'He shat on the new carpet': Mike Pence accused of humiliating and betraying hosts during his visit to Ireland

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US Vice President Mike Pence and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar attend a bilateral meeting at Farmleigh House on September 3, 2019 in Dublin, Ireland. The Vice President is on an official two-day visit to Ireland and is staying at President Trump's golf course resort Doonbeg in County Clare.
  • US Vice-President Mike Pence was accused of trying to humiliate his hosts during a visit to Ireland after voicing his support for Brexit, which is highly unpopular in the country.

  • Pence also drew criticism for choosing to stay at one of Donald Trump's golf resorts, which was on the opposite coast to Dublin and over 160 miles away.
  • One newspaper columnist said the vice-president had "shat on the carpet."
  • There were no crowds present to greet him upon arrival, in contrast to a previous visit by President Obama.

LONDON - Vice President Mike Pence has been met by a wave of criticism during his visit to Ireland, with commentators in the country accusing him of submitting his hosts to "humiliation," and one newspaper columnist concluding that the US vice-president had "shat on the carpet."

Pence faced immediate criticism upon landing in Ireland for his decision to stay at Donald Trump's golf resort in Doonbeg, County Clare, rather than in Dublin.

The luxury club is over 160 miles from the Irish capital, meaning Pence had to travel to and from the city on Air Force 2 for two days consecutively.

Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, criticised his use of the president's properties, which she described as a "cesspool of corruption."

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She said: "Pence is just the latest Republican elected official to enable President Trump's violations of the constitution."

Pence fails to draw the crowds in Ireland

Social media users were quick to point out the shortage of well-wishers to greet the Vice President, in contrast to the large crowds which greeted former President Barack Obama during his visit in 2011.

Videos of Pence's stay in Doonbeg, where Trump's golf resort is located, revealed that almost nobody turned out to greet him, despite his ancestral connections to the area.

The controversy continued after a meeting between the vice-president and Leo Varadkar, the Irish premier, in which Pence underlined his administration's support for the UK leaving the EU.

"Let me be clear: the US supports the UK decision to leave the EU in Brexit," Pence told Varadkar. "But we also recognise the unique challenges on your northern border. And I can assure you we will continue to encourage the United Kingdom and Ireland to ensure that any Brexit respects the Good Friday agreement."

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The UK's attempts to leave the EU pose unique problems for the Good Friday Agreement, the 1998 accord which governs peace between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and Irish newspapers were quick to criticise Pence for his comments.

The Irish Examiner newspaper accused Pence of trying to "humiliate" his hosts, while The Cork Examiner's political Daniel McConnell said: "The cheek of him coming here, eating our food, clogging up our roads and then having the nerve to humiliate his hosts."

Irish Central asked simply "Did VP Pence betray Ireland?"

The Irish Times columnist Miriam Lord provided the harshest commentary on Pence's visit.

She compared Ireland's hosting of Pence to "pulling out all the stops for a much-anticipated visitor to your home and thinking it has been a great success until somebody discovers he shat on the new carpet in the spare room, the one you bought specially for him."

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The meeting appeared tense at times. Varadkar is gay and a prominent advocate of same-sex marriage who had greeted Pence alongside his partner Matthew Barrett, while the vice-president has consistently opposed LGBT+ rights and is opposed to both gay marriage and same-sex civil unions. He has also criticised the idea of gay people serving in the military.

The Irish Times said that Pence's views on the issue were an "anathema to a majority of people in modern Ireland."

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