Kneecap slam “lick-arse” and “scumbag” Irish leader over White House visit: “He thinks it’s a big game”

Kneecap have hit out at the Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheál Martin over his recent visit to the White House to meet US President Donald Trump.

• READ MORE: Kneecap: giving peace, protest and partying a chance

During a meeting at the Oval Office earlier this month, Martin offered warm praise for the Irish-American alliance and the historic ties between the two countries. He also touted Trump’s self-professed role as a peacemaker, according to Al Jazeera.

Martin lauded Trump for his approach to Gaza and recent peace talks, despite Irish parties such as Sinn Fein recently announcing they would boycott St Patrick’s Day events in Washington DC this week. After Trump was asked about the boycott, Martin interjected “to pay tribute to the president on the peace initiatives” in Gaza and elsewhere.

Kneepcap members DJ Próvaí and Móglaí Bap, who have been vocal supporters of Palestine, expressed their anger following his comments.

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“Just as Irish people especially, all we can do is stick together and show solidarity and put pressure on the politicians that we have in Ireland,” Bap said in an interview with JOE.

“Fucking lick arses like Micheál Martin going over to Donald Trump and licking his hole and laughing at his shit jokes. We need to make sure them people are ashamed and embarrassed and let them know that they’re on the wrong side of history.”

He continued: “Sometimes you feel a bit powerless but that’s something we can do, we can put pressure on people like Micheál Martin who wants to go over to America and start licking arse just to get a few quid off Apple or whatever the fuck he’s doing. I think just keep the pressure up and keep talking about Palestine is the best thing we can do at the moment.”

Próvaí added: “He’s a scumbag. He’s a scumbag of the highest order. The way he talks so blasé and he’s not being challenged on it is because everybody is afraid to challenge him. He’s thinks it’s a big game and it’s not. You’re playing with the fucking lives of millions of people here.”

When their film was left out of the Oscar nominations in January despite having been longlisted, the band responded by tweeting: “Fuck the Oscars. Free Palestine.”

Their response was in line with their reaction to the news of a ceasefire in Gaza on January 16, where they posted “we must not forget what Israel has done”.

In their their Cover feature for NME last year, they made their stance against what they call Israel’s “occupation and genocide” of Gaza clear. They also helped raise nearly £100,000 for a volunteer gym in the Aida Refugee Camp in Palestine, and loudly broadcast their message via social media and high-profile TV appearances.

Meanwhile, the band were presented with a “huge” King George V head during their show in Melbourne that was cut off a statue earlier this month.

The King George V statue was beheaded and covered in red paint on a bank holiday for King Charles’ birthday in June 2024. It was part of series of incidents involving attacks on colonial monuments in Victoria.

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