European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with Donald Trump, Turnberry, Scotland, July 27, 2025 (Andrew Harnik/Getty)
EA on France 24: Trump Administration’s PR Visit for Israel’s Gaza Killing
I joined a panel on RTE Radio 1’s Brendan O’Connor Show on Sunday for a 55-minute Week in Review of Ireland, Europe, and the world.
The other panellists are business consultant and former MP Lisa Costello; sociologist Niamh Hourigan; and Harry McGee, the political correspondent of the Irish Times.
We begin with a series : of cases of violence against women in Ireland. While noting a rise in accountability through conviction and sentencing, we emphasize the need for more attention to the protection of women before the violence escalates.
We do a deep dive into the framework of Donald Trump’s 15% tariffs on the European Union, considering whether European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen bowed down to Trump — or whether the EU was right to play for time.
I survey the latest developments in Israel’s mass killing and starvation of Gazans, including the significance of the PR visit to Gaza of Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee: the Trump Administration may be preparing to support the Netanyahu Government’s plan for long-term occupation of the Strip.
And the panel consider the possible candidates for Ireland’s Presidential election in November.
