June 5, 2019: US President Donald Trump during a bilateral meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Shannon Airport in Shannon, Ireland.Getty Images
Donald Trump has reportedly canceled his plans to visit his golf resort in Doonbeg, Co Clare later this month.
“The visit is not going ahead,” a spokesperson for Trump International Golf Links and Hotel confirmed this afternoon, August 16.
The Irish Mirror reported in July that Trump was planning to arrive in Ireland by private jet sometime from August 25 and leave the county before August 30.
Trump was expected to stay at his five-star golf resort, Trump International Golf Links & Hotel, in Doonbeg, Co Clare during his visit, his first to Ireland since 2019. A “major policing operation” was set to be in place for the former US President’s visit.
It had been speculated in recent days that Trump’s upcoming trip to Ireland might be scrapped after the FBI executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago residence in Florida at about 10 am on Monday, August 8. Trump was not in Florida at the time of the search.
A redacted version of both the search warrant and the property receipt listing the items that were seized at Mar-A-Lago has been unsealed by the US District Court - Southern District of Florida.
According to Politico, the unsealed documents show that Trump is being investigated for a potential violation of the Espionage Act and that agents removed classified documents during their search.
On Monday, August 15, a week after the search, Trump told Fox News Digital: "People are so angry at what is taking place.
"Whatever we can do to help — because the temperature has to be brought down in the country. If it isn’t, terrible things are going to happen."
He added: "The people of this country are not going to stand for another scam."
Elsewhere on Monday, the day before it was confirmed that Trump’s visit to Ireland was not going ahead, the former President said on his Truth Social: “Wow! In the raid by the FBI of Mar-A-Lago, they stole my three passports (One expired), along with everything else. This is an assault on a political opponent at a level never seen before in our Country. Third World!”
The Department of Justice has since confirmed that the passports have been returned to Trump. A spokesperson told ABC News on Tuesday: "In executing search warrants, the FBI follows search and seizure procedures ordered by courts, then returns items that do not need to be retained for law enforcement purposes."
It is unclear if Trump, who has yet to formally announce it he will seek reelection in 2024, is trying to reschedule his visit to Ireland.