BUSINESS AS USUAL

Shameless Trump Turns Foreign Visit Into Plug for His Golf Empire

Trump is heading to Ireland for meetings with Irish leaders—and a tournament at his own golf resort.

President Donald Trump is once again folding his personal business into an official presidential trip.

The billionaire president is set to travel to Ireland next month to visit the U.S. embassy and a more personal destination: his own Doonbeg golf course, where the Irish Open will be held, according to the New York Post.

A White House official told the outlet that Trump will be in Ireland on Sept. 12 and 13, the last two days of the Irish Open, where Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, one of the president’s favorite golfers, will be defending his title.

The five-star Trump International Golf Links & Hotel, which is hosting the tournament, will likely be where Trump and his sons Eric and Don Jr. stay after the president first meets with Irish President Catherine Connolly and Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Dublin, according to The Sunday Times.

Connolly has previously described Trump as “volatile” and said he was “acting like a bully,” according to the outlet.

Trump’s golf club, situated on the west coast of Ireland, is also the site of his latest attempt to build a ballroom. Like his gargantuan White House project, the president’s second ballroom project in Doonbeg has run into headwinds: Liam Madden, a nationally renowned planning protester, is running a campaign against the project, according to The Washington Post.

Trump’s trip to Ireland echoes his trip to Scotland last year, when he faced criticism for blending presidential business with his personal golf interests.

During the trip, Trump hosted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his golf resort in Turnberry before opening a new private golf course in Aberdeen.

Meanwhile, the travel, security, logistics, and lodging involved in the trip came with a hefty bill for U.S. taxpayers, with one estimate putting the cost at $10 million. In the U.K., where taxpayers were also left to pick up a hefty tab to facilitate Trump’s visit, protests broke out.

Play Video

Trump’s upcoming Ireland visit is shaping up to be another costly presidential excursion, with security officials on both sides of the Atlantic preparing a “monstrous” security operation, according to the Sunday Times.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump took in a staggering $2.4 billion in 2025, according to a Forbes analysis of his financial disclosure report, bond filings, securities documents, and court records. That’s more than triple the $760 million Trump earned outside the White House in 2024.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Erkki ForsterNight News Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.