Irish UFC star Conor McGregor rages against 'illegal immigration racket' during White House visit
'It's high time that America is made aware of what is going on in Ireland'
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Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor teed off on unchecked immigration in his home country of Ireland during a stop at the White House Monday.
McGregor, 36, was a guest of U.S. President Donald Trump, who last week called the former two-weight UFC champion one of his favourite Irish people.
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“I’m here to raise the issues the people of Ireland face,” McGregor said, speaking in the White House briefing room alongside the president’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, in a clip that has generated tens of millions of views on social media. “It’ll be music to the people of Ireland’s ears because never on the main stage have the issues the people of Ireland face been spoke.”
In a fiery rant that trended online, after it was shared by X owner Elon Musk, McGregor lashed out at his country’s government, accusing leaders of “abandon(ing) the voices of the people of Ireland.”
Cautioning Trump and the American people about the dangers of unchecked mass immigration, McGregor said “it’s high time that America is made aware of what is going on in Ireland.”
“What is going on in Ireland is a travesty,” he continued, accusing the country’s rulers of being guilty of “zero action with zero accountability.”
“Our money is being spent on overseas issues that have nothing to do with the Irish people. The illegal immigration racket is running ravage on the country,” he added. “There are rural towns in Ireland that have been overrun in one swoop. That have become a minority in one swoop.”
McGregor said his message was also directed at the 40 million Irish-Americans.
“(They) need to hear this because, if not, there will be no place to come home and visit,” he said. “Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness and I’m here to raise the issue and highlight it. It’s also St. Patrick’s Day so a little bit of celebrations for sure.”
During his stop at the White House, McGregor posed for pictures with Trump and Musk and signed green baseball caps emblazoned with the slogan, “Make Ireland Great Again.”
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin immediately condemned McGregor’s remarks, tweeting, “St Patrick’s Day around the world is a day rooted in community, humanity, friendship and fellowship. Conor McGregor’s remarks are wrong, and do not reflect the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland.”
Despite being one of the UFC’s most popular personalities, McGregor’s behaviour outside the octagon has been marred by controversy. Last year, the fighter was found liable in a civil trial after Nikita Hand accused him of sexual assault in a hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying in 2018.
Hand claimed the father of four “brutally raped and battered” her while also threatening her life in a chokehold, leaving her badly bruised after the incident.
McGregor denied the accusations and said their encounter was consensual, but he has been ordered to pay a six-figure settlement to Hand.
“People want to hear from me,” McGregor wrote in a now-deleted social media post last November, alleging that Hand had reached out to him. “I needed time. I know I made mistakes. Six years ago, I should have never responded to her outreaches. I should have shut the party down. I should never have stepped out on the woman I love the most in the world. That’s all on me.”
In the aftermath, the Dubliner has been supported by his longtime fiancee Dee Devlin, who wrote in a series of Instagram posts last fall that her “sons will be warned women like you exist in the world.”
But in January, McGregor’s problems continued to mount when an unnamed woman accused him of sexual assault during Game 4 of the 2023 NBA Finals at the Kaseya Center, home arena of the Miami Heat.
McGregor’s lawyer Barbara Llanes immediately branded the lawsuit “a new false story,” The Athletic reported.
Last week, Trump told Irish Prime Minister Martin that he liked McGregor’s tattoos.
“You have a lot of great Irish fighters, actually. I don’t know what that is, but Ireland has always had a lot of good fighters. You know why? Because they’re tough people. They’re smart people and they’re passionate people,” Trump said.
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