Simon Harris used one of his political advisers to video inside the Oval Office during his meeting with US President Joe Biden – after TV cameras were denied access to capture the "closed event."
Mr. Harris, who has been dubbed the 'TikTok Taoiseach,' secured clearance to allow one of his special advisers to film the start of the meeting with President Biden.
The meeting was listed on Mr. Biden’s schedule as closed to the press, meaning neither US nor Irish TV networks were permitted to film what was a landmark event for the Taoiseach.
With a general election approaching, the Fine Gael leader said he would not use the footage or promote Fine Gael in a bid to capitalize on the importance of the meeting.
Asked about what he would say to people who criticised the trip as a "glorified photo opportunity," the Taoiseach said that it was an "absolutely absurd thing to say."
The Taoiseach insisted that "this has been a brief but proudctive, important and, I hope, impactful trip."
October 9, 2024: Taoiseach Simon Harris and President Joe Biden at The White House. (@SimonHarrisTD, X)
Mr. Harris stands out among Irish political leaders for his avid use of social media to promote Government issues and causes, as well as his own personality and interests.
He is particularly aware of its ability to connect with younger voters.
He has 219,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 255,000 on X, 120,000 on TikTok, and 50,000 on Facebook.
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It was Mr. Harris’s first meeting with the outgoing US President as Taoiseach after he took over as leader of Fine Gael and the country in April.
The White House also had an official photographer and videographer present at the meeting but did not publish or circulate any video footage.
On behalf of the Irish contingent, one of Mr. Harris’s advisers – who had travelled with the Taoiseach and his Government press secretary Chris Donoghue – was tasked with taking video footage from inside the meeting.
Members of the Irish media who travelled to Washington were not granted access to the Oval Office during the meeting. Instead, the media were provided with the video clips and told by one of Mr. Harris’s advisers: "I grabbed these [videos] on the QT. Feel free to use it as you please."
The adviser also told members of the press he was not going to be permitted to go into the Oval Office, but was later granted entry.
The Government Press Secretary said that he "didn’t know" why this adviser claimed he got the footage on the "QT" but insisted that did not reflect the reality of the situation and that the adviser was part of the delegation.
White House sources said the adviser was given clearance as an "embassy videographer," despite him not being attached to the embassy.
The only other Irish officials in the room were John Callinan, secretary-general at the Department of the Taoiseach, Joanne Lonergan, the Taoiseach’s joint chief of staff and the Irish Ambassador to the US Geraldine Byrne Nason. Mr. Biden was joined by his senior adviser John McCarthy and the US Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin.
An honor and privilege to be in the Oval Office with @POTUS and Taoiseach @SimonHarrisTD today, as we marked a centenary of US - Irish diplomatic relations. Stronger together, and looking ahead to the next 100 years of our abiding relationship 🇺🇸🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/6QjQpvLGF9
— Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason (@IrelandAmbUSA) October 10, 2024
Pressed on the issue of whether he would be using the footage captured by his adviser on his Fine Gael party’s social media during the upcoming general election campaign, the Taoiseach said: "I’m certainly not planning on using the footage in that regard."
A video montage of the Taoiseach in the White House was uploaded yesterday morning on his TikTok and Instagram social media accounts.
The Taoiseach defended his adviser capturing the content, saying that "political advisers can also take videos" and that he was "obviously allowed to have some of my own people at a meeting with the President of the US."
The adviser travels frequently with the Taoiseach and despite being a political adviser regularly creates social media content.
One Government source said that his presence as an "adviser" when being tasked with "filming the Taoiseach" annoyed some diplomats on other foreign trips.
@simon_harristd Always an honour to represent our county at home and abroad. In Washington, I visited the White House to meet President Biden. Over the course of almost an hour, we discussed a range of vital topics #joebiden #whitehouse #us #potus #fyp #foryou #work #ireland ♬ original sound - Simon Harris
The bilateral meeting between the Taoiseach and Mr. Biden was the centrepiece of a series of engagements in Washington DC to mark 100 years of Irish-United States diplomatic relations which was scaled back due to Hurricane Milton making landfall in Florida.
Pressed again about the importance of meeting with President Biden and those who criticised it as merely a photo opportunity, Mr. Harris said: "What I’d say to them is, find me one other European prime minister who doesn’t want to spend nearly an hour talking to the president of the United States of America in the Oval Office about the undocumented Irish, about the legacy act, about Gaza the Middle East, like the safety of our peacekeepers.
"Remember, this week, on Monday, I was able to speak directly to the president of the United States of America and to ask him to intervene and assist," he said.
The Taoiseach said that there are similar criticisms made about the annual St. Patrick’s Day visit but that no Taoiseach of Ireland would ever turn down the chance to meet with a US President given the benefits it can bring.
"They said the same with St Patrick’s Day, the main opposition party, in fairness, didn’t take that approach, but there are some that have that view. They articulated that view of the Dáil before I headed off on this trip.
"But I’m not sure any moment in our history, and not sure of any moment in the future where a Taoiseach of Ireland, whoever he or she is, would not wish to take the opportunity to engage with the United States," he said.
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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