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Trump fan and Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor ranted about illegal immigration into his country in a St Patrick’s Day visit to the White House.
McGregor in his surprise appearance on Monday said that an ‘illegal immigration racket is ravaging our country’.
‘What’s going on in Ireland is a travesty,’ he declared. ‘Our government is a government of zero action.’
The former UFC champion visited while continuing to fight sexual assault cases against him, including a court’s decision late last year ordering him to pay £200,000 to a woman who claimed he raped her in a hotel penthouse.
epa11969907 Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor speaks briefly to the media in the White House Press Briefing Room in Washington, DC, USA, 17 March 2025. McGregor said he was meeting with President Trump later in the day. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO / POOL
Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor spoke briefly to the media in the White House Press Briefing Room on Monday (Picture: EPA)
McGregor spoke to 40million Irish immigrants who fled poverty in their home country for the US.
‘There will be no place to come home and visit,’ he told them, adding that the country is ‘potentially losing its Irishness’.
McGregor, wearing a dark green pinstripe three-piece suit, added that ‘it’s also St. Patrick’s Day so a little celebrations for sure’.
He praised President Donald Trump as ‘inspiring’ and said there would be ‘a little bit of learning and listening’ for him.
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 17: Former UFC champion and Irish businessman Conor McGregor briefly speaks with reporters alongside White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt before meeting with President Donald Trump in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, 2025 in Washington, DC. McGregor said he is meeting with Trump to talk about how Ireland is losing its identity to immigrants, among other topics. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Former UFC champion and Irish businessman Conor McGregor (left) briefly speaks with reporters alongside White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (right) before meeting with President Donald Trump in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Saint Patrick’s Day (Picture: Getty Images)
Trump just days earlier in a White House meeting with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin spoke highly of McGregor despite sexual assault cases against him.
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‘Conor’s great, right?’ said Trump.
‘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.’
A woman sued McGregor in January, alleging that he sexually assaulted her in a restroom after a Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets NBA Finals game in 2023.
UFC fighter Conor McGregor speaks with reporters in the briefing room of the White House, Monday, March 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
UFC fighter Conor McGregor speaks with reporters in the briefing room of the White House (Picture: AP)
McGregor has denied the allegations since 2023.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt joked that McGregor was ‘taking over the podium’ and allowed him to leave when a Daily Mail reporter asked him about undocumented Irish immigrants in the US.
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