Conor McGregor meets Donald Trump but slammed for anti-immigration rant in White House

Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor has sparked backlash with an anti-immigration rant while meeting US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.

Controversial Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor has sparked controversy with anti-immigration comments made during his White House visit meeting with Donald Trump.

Accompanied by his partner and four children, McGregor praised the president’s work ethic as “inspiring” as he met him in the Oval Office on St Patrick’s Day.

McGregor said “Ireland is on the cusp of losing its Irishness” and that an “illegal immigration racket” was “running ravage on the country”.

Last week, Mr Trump singled out “Conor” – who last year was found liable for sexual assault after a civil trial – as one of his favourite Irish people.

Wearing a green business suit for Ireland’s national day, McGregor attended the White House at Trump’s invitation and took part in an impromptu Q&A with reporters.

“There are rural towns in Ireland that have been overrun in one swoop,” he said, speaking in the White House briefing room alongside the president’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.

Irish professional mixed martial artist and businessman Conor McGregor speaks from the White House briefing room podium with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Picture: AFP

Conor McGregor, with his family, meets with President Trump in the Oval Office.

McGregor accused the Irish government of “abandoning” the voices of the people of Ireland as he criticised immigration policies.

“What is going on in Ireland is a travesty,” he said.

“Our money is being spent on overseas issues that is nothing to do with the Irish people.”

However, were immediately condemned by Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

“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,” he said on X. “St Patrick’s Day around the world is a day rooted in community, humanity, friendship and fellowship.”

Conor McGregor meets with President Trump in the Oval Office.

Conor McGregor, with his family at the Oval Office.

It comes as the president said that he was voiding all the last-minute pardons former President Joe Biden made using autopen.

On the last day of his presidency, Mr Biden issued a string of last minute pardons, including pre-emptive pardons to Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and Dr Anthony Fauci, his medical adviser.

Mr Biden also pre-emptively pardoned all nine members of the January 6 Committee, including its two leaders Bennie Thompson, a Democrat and Liz Cheney, then a Republican who said she would back former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2025 election.

“The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social.

Former US President Joe Biden speaks during a farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on January 20, 2025, following Donald Trump's inauguration. Picture: AFP

“In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!” he said of the oldest-ever president, who was 82 when he signed the pardons after months of speculation about his mental fitness for the job.

President Trump alleged that the pardons were not “approved” by his predecessor.

“The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden,” he wrote. “He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime.”

Mr Trump also warned that members of the former January 6 House select committee who Mr Biden issued pardons to would be “subject to investigation at the highest level.”

“Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level,” Mr Trump posted.

Mr Trump expressed outrage after Mr Biden issued the pre-emptive pardons, blasting the move as “disgraceful” and saying, “Many are guilty of MAJOR CRIMES!”

US President-elect Donald Trump greets US President Joe Biden as he arrives for inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on January 20, 2025. Picture: AFP

Last week, Missouri’s Attorney-General Andrew Bailey suggested that dozens of executive orders signed by former President Biden were authorised with identical autopen signatures, and “if true, these executive orders, pardons, and all other actions are unconstitutional and legally void.”

“I am demanding the Department Of Justice investigate whether President Biden’s cognitive decline allowed unelected staff to push through radical policy without his knowing approval,” Mr Bailey said.

It’s unclear whether any court will take steps to void Mr Biden’s pardons over the autopen claims.

The legal basis for his argument appears uncertain, but Mr Trump has sought to drum up outrage over his predecessor’s supposed use of autopen to sign presidential pardons and other documents.

Mr Trump’s attack on auto-signatures ignores that they have been used by previous presidents - and that there is no evidence Mr Biden even used the technology for signing pardons, which gave immunity to a string of Mr Trump’s political opponents.

However, the narrative taps into the 47th president’s longtime theory that a senile Biden was not in charge as president, while a mysterious “deep state” pulled the strings.

TRUMP SAYS ‘IRAN RESPONSIBLE’ FOR HOUTHI ATTACKS

President Donald Trump has declared he will hold Iran directly responsible for any future attacks by Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi rebels, who have targeted multiple US and other foreign ships in the Red Sea.

Donald Trump watching the attacks he ordered on Yemen. Picture: X/WhiteHouse

An aircraft launching from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen. Picture: U.S. Navy via AP

“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences,” Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

While the United States has been carrying out strikes on Houthi targets for months, Mr Trump’s comments were unusually pointed at Iran, whom he is also pressuring over nuclear talks.

He spoke after the first US strikes on Yemen of his new term killed 53 people and wounded 98 on Saturday.

In response the Houthis claimed two strikes on a US aircraft carrier and rallied thousands at protests in parts of Yemen under their control.

The Houthis have said they are carrying out the attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is waging a war with US support.

“Any further attack or retaliation by the ‘Houthis’ will be met with great force,” Mr Trump also said in his post, adding that “Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’” in the conflict.

Before this weekend’s targeting of the US carrier group, the Houthis had not claimed attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since January 19, when a ceasefire in Gaza began.

“Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN,” claimed Mr Trump who also said “Iran will suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!”

Originally published as Conor McGregor meets Donald Trump but slammed for anti-immigration rant in White House