Taoiseach insists Ireland will work with US 'whatever the outcome of the election'

Who will be sitting by the fireplace in the Oval Office as President and Taoiseach? Whoever it is, they’ll hope that those 100 years of Irish-US diplomatic relations will be able to withstand the next storm

Dozens of wooden planks lay in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue NW, facing the White House.

It is unlikely that Joe Biden can see them from the front door of his opulent home, but they are yet another sign that his time as US President is drawing to a close.

The planks are for the inauguration, the Irish press pack was told as they walked past them on their way to cover Taoiseach Simon Harris' trip to the Oval Office.

READ MORE - Simon Harris slams 'absurd' suggestion that his White House visit was a 'photo opportunity'

READ MORE - Taoiseach Simon Harris predicts Joe Biden will be a 'frequent visitor' to Ireland after presidency

The inauguration will not be until January, but the November 5 Presidential Election is growing ever closer for Democratic nominee vice-president Kamala Harris and Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump.

Speaking to people in Washington DC during the week, it was obvious that neither Harris nor Trump has the election in the bag.

One person explained to the Irish Mirror that it is all to play for, with many still undecided about who they want to succeed Joe Biden.

Despite what some might think, another Washington local explained Ms Harris is not home and dry.

In battleground states like Michigan, support amongst Arab voters is waning the longer the war in the Middle East continues. The current regime has continued to fund Israeli arms, with the impacts of this clear to see in countries such as Palestine and Lebanon.

The handling of global affairs will obviously impact people’s votes.

But could the weather?

Hurricane Milton dominated the US news agenda this week, with news channels reporting live from Florida as the category five hurricane closed in.

One source suggested how both sides handled it could make or break the election.

Mr Trump, as always, turned it into a debate on immigration, suggesting that emergency disaster money was being given to illegal migrants.

"They stole the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) money, just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them this season," he suggested.

The White House rubbished the claims, begging Mr Trump to stop spreading disinformation.

On Thursday, President Biden told Mr Trump to "get a life, man" as he accused him of "reckless, irresponsible and relentless disinformation and outright lies".

Ms Harris did not do herself any favours with her handling of the hurricane either, as she blasted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for not answering her calls.

Mr DeSantis, who was in the running as a potential Republican presidential candidate, hit back, stating she had not reached out when other storms hit the state and she was now "trying to inject herself into this because of her political campaign".

Her appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, during which she cracked open a beer, also did not go down well in some parts of the US media.

Some three million were left without power as the storm, which claimed more than a dozen lives, subsided.

In a bid to prevent a political storm, Mr Biden had to call Simon Harris on Monday evening to tell him a reception to mark 100 years of US-Irish relations in the White House’s Rose Garden was cancelled.

He could not be seen having a party when a life-threatening storm was about to hit, Irish Government sources explained.

Washington sources suggested that the party was in the works for months before Mr Biden pulled out of the US Presidential race. Over 300 guests would have attended the shindig held four weeks before polling day. There were even rumours that Mr Biden would have attended a party afterwards and taken pictures.

After this decision to drop out of the race, the reception was being touted as "one last swansong" with the leader of Mr Biden’s ancestral homeplace.

Irish journalists were informed late Monday night that the Rose Garden gig had been cancelled. With most due to board planes 12 hours later, many questioned whether the Taoiseach would still go on the trip. It was only 48 hours long, anyway.

But Mr Harris went and attended a handful of events, including a bi-lateral meeting with President Biden.

It was hard not to notice the accusations online that Mr Harris was just attending to get his photograph in the Oval Office in case he would not be Taoiseach on St Patrick’s Day.

He denied this, of course, saying that no leader would pass up on an opportunity to meet the US President. Besides, there were important things on the agenda, he said, including the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

However, the accusations of a photo-op weren’t helped by Mr Harris' repeated failure to say in advance of the meeting whether he would complain to President Biden about the US funding of Israeli arms.

He did not confirm after the meeting whether he had brought it up either but insisted he told President Biden that everyone had to use every lever at their disposal to bring about a ceasefire.

Mr Harris said last week that you must speak the truth to friends, but his lack of a clear answer suggested to many that he had bottled it.

No Irish press was allowed inside the Oval Office, so we will never know what was said.

One thing we do know, however, is that by this time next month, either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will have won the race to become the next President of the United States of America.

At an event at Georgetown University on Thursday, one mischievous student asked the Taoiseach how the Irish Government was preparing for the potential of a new Trump administration.

Mr Harris replied that Ireland will work with America "whatever the outcome of the election," adding that he would not appreciate American politicians weighing into an Irish election.

The date of that election, however, is still unclear as the Taoiseach once again refused to state if polling day will be before or after Christmas.

Another thing we know for certain is that by the time the Irish delegation rolls back into Washington DC in March, the inauguration risers will be down and the wooden planks destroyed.

Who will be sitting by the fireplace in the Oval Office as President and Taoiseach?

Whoever it is, they’ll hope that those 100 years of Irish-US diplomatic relations will be able to withstand the next storm.

Whatever that may be.

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