Police responsible for President Donald Trump’s safety have become a laughing stock.
The president, 80, has been in Ireland over the weekend for a golf-oriented visit to his Doonbeg resort in County Clare to watch the Irish Open.
Local gardaí police officers were part of the security operation during the trip, but two of them made an awkward mistake while on duty when they started discussing the details of their operation with a journalist.
BBC reporter Enda McClafferty revealed that while he was out reporting on Trump’s visit, two cops approached one of his co-workers.
“Yesterday two gardaí flagged down our cameraman and mistook him for an undercover Garda officer,” he told BBC Sunday Politics, “and started to talk tactics to him!”
It led host Mark Carruthers to break out in to a stifled laugh.
In another striking revelation, McClafferty said Trump had been using an interesting vehicle to get around the course.
“Donald Trump has brought with him an armor-plated golf buggy, Mark, believe it or not and he hopes I think to get around the course today in that,” he revealed.
“I do believe it,” Carruthers replied.
Rank-and-file gardaí were reported by the Irish Mirror to be left fuming after some were told they would need to pay for their own childcare and accommodation when in County Clare as part of Trump’s visit.
The newspaper cited sources who said that morale had been low, with one source saying the operation, dubbed Operation Far Sunrise, had been a “s--t show.”
“There are members who were notified to work five nights in Clare and were then told this week that they’re only working the weekend,” another source said. “It means they’ve had to spend a fortune on accommodation and change plans they had made just two weeks ago.”
“There’s a use and abuse policy from management and they’re expecting lads to just show up,” a third said. All were granted anonymity. “It’s not good enough and there’s a feeling that people will refuse to turn up, go sick, or even walk if this happens again.”
Despite the concerns, Irish law enforcement did end up coming en masse.
“We have more gardaí than we have spectators at the golf,” McClafferty said during his interview. “Around every bog corner, if you like, there’s a squad car.”
Trump’s visit to Ireland hasn’t been popular with locals either, and has sparked protests and fury around the world.
During the trip, Trump said he would remove tariffs on Irish whiskey.
“Everybody’s been bugging me,” he said, according to the BBC. “They are saying ‘would you do me a favor? It’s so unfair what’s going on.’
“Could you possibly take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey and I said, on behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey.”
