Conor McGregor used his podium at the White House on Monday to rally against what he called an ‘illegal immigration racket ravaging our country’ – his latest foray into the world of politics.
The Irish mixed martial arts fighter spoke at a press conference ahead of a meeting with Donald Trump, telling reporters that he would voice concerns about immigration issues in Ireland when speaking to the U.S. President.
Donning a green three-piece suit, McGregor told an audience that Ireland was close to ‘potentially losing its Irishness’, laying into the Irish government as an administration of ‘zero action with zero accountability’.
‘Out money is being spent on overseas issues that is nothing to do with the Irish people [sic],’ he said.
‘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.’
McGregor’s invitation to the White House came after Donald Trump last week singled out the sportsman, who was found liable for sexual assault after a civil trial last year, as one of his favourite Irish people.
The strong rhetoric on display in Monday’s speech aligned with Trump’s own rallies against illegal immigration. But it is not the first time the 36-year-old has ventured into politics.
Conor McGregor meets President Donald Trump at The White House
Conor McGregor (pictured) launched an attack on an ‘illegal immigration racket ravaging’ Ireland in a fiery rant at the White House before meeting US President Donald Trump
Conor McGregor is pictured standing in front of images of US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance
Conor McGregor and partner Dee Devlin arrive back at the High Court in Dublin, November 22
Conor McGregor praised Donald Trump’s ‘work ethic’ as ‘inspiring’ when they finally met on Monday.
The pair posed for photos, clasping hands, and shared light comments in front of a map of the Gulf of Mexico, labelled as the Gulf of America, in the Oval Office.
Ahead of the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in the briefing room: ‘We couldn’t think of a better guest to have with us on St Patrick’s Day.’
The pairing was not always on the cards. A decade ago, when Trump was merely a candidate for office, McGregor launched into a tirade when pressed to comment on Trump’s trash-talking of fellow wrestler Ronda Rousey.
‘It means nothing, so Donald can shut his big fat mouth,’ he said at the time. ‘I don’t give a f*** about Donald Trump.’
Ten years later, Donald Trump is the president of the United States, and McGregor was happy to accept his invitation to the White House.
It was a rare opportunity for the athlete to have the world’s eyes on him, having been out of the octagon for almost four years.
McGregor was last in focus in November, when he was seen leaving the High Court in Dublin in silence after being found liable for assaulting Nikita Hand in December 2018 and ordered to pay €250,000.
Monday’s press conference took a different tone, with an animated McGregor given a platform to speak on what he called the issue of an ‘illegal immigration racket’ in Ireland, and the U.S.-Irish relationship.
McGregor’s rant was loud enough to stir a response from politicians in Ireland, who found themselves within the MMA fighter’s sights.
Irish leader Micheál Martin said the comments ‘did not reflect the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland’.
Martin wrote on X that the holiday was ‘a day rooted in community, humanity, friendship and fellowship.’
Simon Harris, now deputy prime minister, said in a video published to social media while visiting New York: ‘It’s for President Trump to decide to invite whoever 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 and my views on him are very clear.’
President Trump is pictured with McGregor and the martial arts fighter’s family
Conor McGregor celebrates his victory over Eddie Alvarez in their UFC lightweight championship fight during the UFC 205 event at Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2016
McGregor has been vocal about divisive political issues such as immigration
His bid received support from Elon Musk, now Trump’s cost-cutting tsar, who replied: ‘I think you could take them all single-handed. Not even fair.’
Conor McGregor has received support from Elon Musk (left) and Andrew Tate (right)
McGregor has not held a role in office before. But he has asserted that he would be the ‘only logical choice’ for president of Ireland.
Ireland is headed by an elected president, though most real political power lies with the Taoiseach, nominated by the Dáil, the lower house.
In comments in December 2023, amid turbulent discourse around the Dublin riots triggered by the stabbings of three children and a carer in the city, McGregor made a case for himself as president.
‘Potential competition if I run. Gerry [Adams], 78. Bertie [Ahern]. 75. Enda [Kenny], 74. Each with unbreakable ties to their individual parties politics,’ he wrote online.
‘Regardless of what the public outside of their parties feel. These parties govern themselves vs govern the people.
‘Or me, 35. Young, active, passionate, fresh skin in the game. I listen. I support. I adapt. I have no affiliation/bias/favoritism toward any party. They would genuinely be held to account regarding the current sway of public feeling. I’d even put it all to vote.’
His bid received support from Elon Musk, now Trump’s cost-cutting tsar, who replied: ‘I think you could take them all single-handed. Not even fair.’
McGregor aired his promise to be a ‘voice of the people that deserve to be heard’ following his criticism of how the government had handled the stabbings of four in Dublin.
He had laid into the government after a 49-year-old Irish citizen, of Algerian origin, was detained in connection to the attacks, sparking riots across the city.
Hundreds of rioters took to the streets, setting police cars, buses and trams on fire.
Some threw fireworks and flares, and injured police officers. Looting cost local shops ‘tens of millions’ of euros in damages.
McGregor later wrote that he did not condone the riots.
He told the Guardian: ‘We Irish are known for our beautiful hearts, and we have a proud history of not accepting racism.’
But McGregor was sharp in his response to the attacks.
‘Innocent children ruthlessly stabbed by a mentally deranged non-national in Dublin, Ireland today,’ he said at the time.
‘There is grave danger among us in Ireland that should never be here in the first place, and there has been zero action done to support the public in any way, shape or form with this frightening fact. NOT GOOD ENOUGH.’
Misinformation had circled claiming the alleged assailant was a foreign national, driving anti-immigration discourse online.
The suspect had moved from Algeria in 2003 and was a naturalised Irish citizen.
McGregor’s rhetoric was similar following the sentencing of Jozef Puska, a 33-year-old Slovakian man jailed for life for the murder of Irish schoolteacher Ashling Murphy.
‘Ireland, we are at war,’ he wrote in a post viewed more than 19 million times on X.
Riot police walk next to a burning police vehicle, near the scene of a suspected stabbing that left few children injured in Dublin, Ireland, November 23, 2023
Hundreds of rioters took to the streets, setting police cars, buses and trams on fire
Riot police operate during a demonstration following a suspected stabbing that left few children injured in Dublin
Riot police officers face down demonstrators next to a burning police car near a crime scene of a school stabbing that left several children and adults injured, in Dublin, Ireland
A bus burns as a riot breaks out following a school stabbing that left several children and adults injured, in Dublin, Ireland, November 23, 2023
McGregor renewed his political ambitions months later, in September 2024, when he claimed to have ‘all the answers the people of Ireland seek’.
Staking his bid for presidency, McGregor said: ‘As President I hold the power to summon the Dáil [Ireland’s government] as well as dissolve it.
‘So as I said before, I would have all the answers the people of Ireland seek from these thieves of the working man, these disrupters of the family unit, these destructors of small businesses, and on and on and on!
‘These charlatans in their positions of power would be summoned to answer to the people of Ireland and I would have it done by day end. Or I would be left with no choice but to dissolve the Dáil entirely.
‘Stop the train until. The people of Ireland deserve the answers they seek. Point blank. This would be my power as President [sic].
‘I know very well. Ireland needs an active President employed wholly by the people of Ireland. It is me. I am the only logical choice. 2025 is upcoming…’ he added.
Andrew Tate, who faces rape and human-trafficking charges in Romania, which he denies, replied to McGregor’s post.
‘My grandfather is from Limerick. I have the Irish passport. I will vote for you. We must do something before it’s too late,’ said Tate in his reply.
McGregor’s views have attracted the attention of the far-right, according to Ciarán O’Connor, a senior analyst with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which researches online hate and disinformation.
He told CNN last year: ‘The far-right are promoting McGregor as the voice of the people, taking advantage of his platforms to boost their ideology.’
He said he believed that McGregor’s ‘tweets in the lead up to the riot were a call to action against illegal immigration.’
The November 2024 Irish election came and went. Fianna Fáil remained the largest party, increasing its number of seats to 48 under Micheál Martin.
Asked at Trump’s inauguration in January 2025 whether he would one day run for office, McGregor said only: ‘We will see. We will see. We will see.’
If he does want to run, he only has a few months to decide.
To receive a nomination to contest October’s presidential election, he would need to be nominated by at least 20 members of the Oireachtas, or at least four local authorities.
This would be an uphill battle, with centrist and centre-right parties still leading in the political sphere.
Conor McGregor prepares to fight Dustin Poirier in a UFC 264 lightweight mixed martial arts bout, July 10, 2021
Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor (centre) and partner Dee Devlin leave the High Court in Dublin after the personal injury case against him in November 2024
Nikita Hand, who is also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, speaking to the media outside the High Court in Dublin after the personal injury case against Conor McGregor
Irish UFC fighter Conor McGregor speaks from the briefing room lectern during a visit to the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., March 17, 2025
Conor McGregor rose from humble beginnings in Ireland to become the first fighter to simultaneously hold two UFC belts.
During his rise, he wooed a global audience with his achievements.
Today, his views are seen by millions online, and have the power to reverberate around the world in minutes.
His appearance at the White House on Monday is the latest in a string of events highlighting wider political ambitions, having found support among a growing faction on the Right espousing pro-nationalist and anti-immigration views.
