Conor McGregor launches attack on ‘illegal immigration racket ravaging our country’ and says Ireland is close to ‘losing its Irishness’ in extraordinary White House rant before meeting Trump

Conor McGregor has launched an attack on an ‘illegal immigration racket ravaging’ Ireland in a rant at the White House before meeting US President Donald Trump.

The Irish mixed martial arts fighter visited Trump in Washington today, telling reporters in the West Wing that he would voice concerns about immigration issues in Ireland when speaking to Trump.

In a press conference prior to the meeting, McGregor claimed Ireland was close to ‘potentially losing its Irishness’ due to an ‘illegal immigration racket is ravaging our country’.

McGregor said he was at the Whiter House ‘to raise the issues the people of Ireland face’ as ‘what is going on in Ireland is a travesty’.

The US is home to millions of descendants of Irish immigrants who fled poverty for the ‘American dream’ and a better life across the pond, with McGregor addressing some of his remarks to them.

‘The 40 million Irish Americans need to hear this. Because if not, there will be no place to come home and visit,’ McGregor, former lightweight and featherweight Ultimate Fighting champ, said.

McGregor is meeting with President Trump at the White House on St. Patrick’s Day and the Trump fan made a surprise trip to the White House podium on Monday.

He was accompanied by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who was showing him the room where she battles the press. Both wore green in a nod to Ireland – with McGregor decked out in a three-piece suit.

Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor attended the White House to meet the President Monday 

The 36-year-old called on the United States to ‘look after its little bro,’ Ireland 

Leavitt said it wasn’t planned, but ‘very festive.’ When DailyMail.com asked the champ a question about undocumented Irish immigrants living in the US, Leavitt joked that he was ‘taking over the podium,’ and let him go.

‘Ireland and America we are siblings,’ McGregor responded, saying it was important ‘for Irish Americans to have a place to visit.’

‘We wish to be taken care of by the big bro. The United States should look after its little bro. That’s how we feel,’ he continued.

‘I’m here to raise the issues the people of Ireland face. It will be music to the people of Ireland’s ears,’ he said.

McGregor added: ‘Never on the main stage has the issues the people of Ireland faced been spoke. Our government has long since abandoned the voices of the people of Ireland and it’s high time that America is made aware of what is going on in Ireland.

‘What is going on in Ireland is a travesty. Our government is the government of zero action with zero accountability. Our money is being spent on overseas issues that is nothing to do with the Irish people.

‘The illegal immigration racket is running ravage on the country.

‘There are rural towns in Ireland that have been overrun in one swoop, that have become a minority in one swoop, so issues need to be addressed and the 40 million Irish Americans, as I said, need to hear this because if not there will be no place to come home and visit.’

The former UFC champion and Leavitt both wore green on St. Patrick’s Day 

McGregor is meeting with other members of the administration as well. When he got hit with another question about simmering trade disputes – which were on tap when the Irish Taoiseach visited the White House last week – Leavitt tagged in.

She reclaimed the podium and said McGregor would be meeting Trump later. ‘We couldn’t think of a better guest to have with us on St. Patrick’s Day,’ she said. 

But Irish political leaders have insisted McGregor does not speak for Ireland after the fighter visited the White House.

In response to McGregor’s comments to reporters in the White House briefing room, Irish premier Micheal Martin later said his claims were ‘wrong’, and did not reflect the views of the Irish people.

Mr Martin wrote on X: ‘St Patrick’s Day around the world is a day rooted in community, humanity, friendship and fellowship. Conor McGregor’s remarks are wrong, and do not reflect the spirit of St Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland.’

Deputy premier Simon Harris said that McGregor was not in the US to represent Ireland and did not speak for the people of Ireland, and ‘has no mandate to’.

Tanaiste Mr Harris said: ‘It’s for President Trump to invite wherever he wants to his home, and he’s perfectly entitled to do whatever he wishes in relation to who he decides to invite to the White House.

‘But let me be very clear, Conor McGregor is not here in the United States representing Ireland or the people of Ireland. He’s here in a personal capacity.

‘He doesn’t speak for Ireland. He doesn’t speak for the people of Ireland. He has no mandate to do such. My views on him are very clear, well established, previously articulated, long standing and on the public record.’

Conor McGregor is pictured above standing in front of images of US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance

Speaking at the White House with conservative Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin (right), Trump professed an appreciation for McGregor, who recently appeared at the January inauguration

The appearance comes just days after Trump gushed over McGregor, delivering a glowing verdict of the fighter – despite the sexual assault allegations facing him. 

Speaking with conservative Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the White House last week, Trump professed an appreciation for McGregor, who recently appeared at the President’s inauguration in January.

‘He’s got the best tattoos I’ve ever seen,’ Trump said. ‘Conor’s great, right?

‘You have a lot of great Irish fighters. I don’t know what that is, but Ireland has always had a lot of good fighters. You know why? Because they’re tough people. They’re smart people and they’re passionate people.’

It was at this moment when Trump remembered that Martin’s father Paddy was a boxer in addition to being a soldier in the Defense Forces and a bus driver.

‘I think your father was a great fighter, right?’ Trump asked Martin. Martin immediately agreed: ‘He was.’

‘And yet, look at you, you’re so smooth,’ Trump told Martin, drawing a few laughs from reporters.

Trump then added: ‘Genetically, I’m not gonna mess around with you.’

McGregor’s visit to the White House came months after he was found civilly liable in a High Court damages case in Dublin taken by a woman who accused him of rape.

Nikita Hand, also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, won her claim against McGregor after accusing the professional fighter of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.

Nikita Hand (pictured), also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, won her claim against McGregor after accusing the professional fighter of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018

Conor McGregor is seen leaving 1518 Bar & Grill after a surprise appearance for ‘Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship x Forged Irish Stout’ BKFC Ticket Giveaway on January 22, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ms Hand, 35, was awarded damages and costs after a three-week trial last year in which the jury found him civilly liable for assault.

A judge at the High Court in Dublin later said the jury had ‘conclusively determined’ that McGregor had raped Ms Hand.

McGregor is appealing against the outcome of the civil case.

Tanaiste Mr Harris said in his statement following McGregor’s White House visit: ‘I’ve spoken to Nikita Hand. I admire her bravery, her courage, and I’d much rather be talking about Nikita Hand than Conor McGregor, quite frankly.’

Furthermore, McGregor and the NBA’s Miami Heat are currently facing a federal lawsuit over claims the MMA legend sexually assaulted a woman in a bathroom at the Kaseya Center while security stood guard outside the stall.

Not only is he accused of sexually assaulting a woman at that game, but in a misguided on-court bit, McGregor struck the team mascot, Burnie, sending the costumed performer tumbling down to the hardwood earlier in the evening. A second punch sent the mascot kicking his feet and rolling in apparent agony.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra later confirmed that the person portraying the mascot was taken to the hospital, but assured reporters Burnie didn’t suffer any permanent injuries.

‘We won’t reveal who that is, but yeah, he can take a punch and get back up,’ Spoelstra said at the time. ‘He’s not going to miss any time.’

McGregor has since portrayed the incident as a ‘skit’ gone awry.

‘The mascot’s good, my man,’ he told Adam Glyn in June of 2023. ‘The Mascot is good. It was a skit, and it went the way it went, but all is well.’