TAOISEACH SIMON HARRIS has defended referring to Donald Trump as an “awful gowl” in what he described as a “lighthearted” radio interview more than four years ago.

Trump will be inaugurated for his second term as US president later this month, following his success in the US election in November.  

Trump previously ran for re-election in 2020, but lost out to the outgoing President Joe Biden.

During an October 2020 interview on the 2FM breakfast radio programme, Harris said he was willing to call Trump an “awful gowl”.

Asked by the host if he would be willing to commit to calling Trump an “awful gowl” if he lost the 2020 election, Harris replied: “I’ll do that now, if you wish.”

Asked today about the comments and whether he still believed Trump to be an awful gowl, the Taoiseach said the comments had been raised with him on previous occasions over the last few years. 

“I welcome the opportunity to comment on it. I think if anyone listens back to that clip, let’s describe it as a light-hearted radio programme,” he said, adding that it is an “Irish phrase”. 

‘Lighthearted’

Harris added that Trump had now won the 2024 election, stating: “It was said in a lighthearted manner.”

Asked if he wanted to apologise to Trump, he said he had a “great conversation” recently with the incoming US president, where Harris said he congratulated the president-elect following the US election.

“I think President Trump would very much understand the context of those lighthearted remarks.

“But let me be clear, they were asked in the context of if President Trump lost the election. President Trump won the election, clearly won the election, and now it’s about responding.”

“We now have absolute policy clarity in terms of the direction of the United States of America for the next four years,” Harris told reporters today, adding that it will be the government’s job now to “make sure that we prepare ourselves to respond to that”. 

Harris will not be Taoiseach when the annual presentation of the bowl of shamrock at the White House on St Patrick’s Day takes place this year, with Micheál Martin likely to make the visit. The invitation to the White House is at the behest of the US president.