Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s former Taoiseach, is at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week where he got a selfie with longtime US politician, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
Varadkar shared a selfie he snapped with Pelosi while at the convention on Wednesday night on his Instagram stories on Thursday.
He also shared a clip of Vice Presidential nominee Governor Tim Walz with his family after accepting the nomination, as well as some clips of the crowds in the United Center.
Leo Varadkar shared a clip of Governor Tim Walz with his wife and two children on stage at the Democratic National Convention after accepting his nomination.
Speaking with Newstalk on Thursday, Varadkar said he received an invitation to attend the convention when former Speaker Pelosi was in Dublin in April.
"We met up because we worked together closely in our previous roles," Varadkar said of his engagement with Pelosi in April.
"She asked me if I'd like to go to the convention and, being the political buff I am, I said, 'yeah, absolutely, I'd love to go.' So she put me in touch with some people and the arrangements were made."
Varadkar, who remains a TD for Dublin West, announced in March that he was resigning as Taoiseach not long after returning from his St. Patrick's Day engagements in the US.
Pelosi, meanwhile, announced in November 2022 that she would not be seeking reelection to Democratic leadership in Congress. She remains a Representative in Congress for a district in San Francisco.
April 16, 2019: Leo Varadkar, then Taoiseach, with Representative Nancy Pelosi in Dublin. (RollingNews.ie)
Varadkar told Newstalk that it's a "great opportunity" to be at the convention.
"I've been observing American political conventions probably since I was a teenager but was never able to attend one before," he said.
"It's just a great opportunity to see how it operates, meeting people who are involved in American politics."
Varadkar admitted the convention is "on a very different scale to a party conference in Ireland or Britain or an Ard Fheis," but noted that the speeches are not unlike the main speeches at an Ard Fheis in that they're meant for a wider audience.
He observed: "America is very polarized politically. Elections tend to be very tight, presidential elections are down to a few percent. Not many people actually change their mind or are particularly convincible. It's very much about firing up your base and getting voter turnout."
He continued: "I think there's been a big shift in the last couple of weeks, particularly on the Democratic side where people are more fired up about the new ticket than they were previously about President Biden, who is a man I deeply respect and deeply love and am grateful for, but the enthusiasm is great for this new ticket and I don't think there's any doubt about that from the feeling on the ground."
Varadkar said he was most impressed by Oprah Winfrey's speech on Wednesday night. He noted that she's a registered Independent and was "encouraging Independent voters to come out and vote." He said he also enjoyed the speeches from Governor Walz and Governor of Georgia Wes Moore.
The Democratic National Convention concludes tonight in Chicago when Vice President Kamala Harris will formally be nominated to be the Democrats' nominee for the election this November, will she face off against Republican nominee Donald Trump.
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