UK premier rejects Trump's call for Irish unification, cites lack of public support

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government pushed back Saturday against US President Donald Trump's comments backing Irish unification, saying there was insufficient public support in Northern Ireland to trigger a referendum on the territory's constitutional status.

A Downing Street spokesperson said Burnham continued to believe the conditions required under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement for holding a referendum on Northern Ireland's constitutional future had not been met, according to The Guardian.

The response came after Trump said he would "love" to see a united Ireland and suggested that unification "may as well happen now" during a joint press conference with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in Dublin.

"I don't want to cause any problems, but I will tell you, I'd love to see it unified," Trump said.

"I think it would be a great feather in everybody’s cap if that happened. You know what? The way I look at it, it’s going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now."

Trump described Irish unification as "fantastic," adding that although the UK would have a say, he believed it would be a positive development.

Under the Good Friday Agreement, a referendum on Northern Ireland's constitutional status can be called if it appears likely that a majority would vote for the territory to leave the UK and become part of a united Ireland.