Ireland holds its breath as its leftwing president prepares to meet Trump

Ireland’s president, Catherine Connolly, has called Donald Trump abhorrent and an abuser of power. In his sole previous comment on Connolly, the US president seemed to think she was a man. Now that they are about to meet, Ireland is holding its breath.

Trump is to fly into Dublin on Saturday morning for a two-day visit centred on golf. But before making it to his beloved greens, protocol obliges him to meet a woman who has given every impression of loathing him.

A courtesy call to Áras an Uachtaráin, the Irish president’s official residence and workplace in the city’s Phoenix Park, has