Leitrim man renames his London pub to honour Trump's state visit
Damien Smyth from Ballinamore says he wants to celebrate the US President and the conservative activist, despite backlash and protests in the UK capital.
A Leitrim man has temporarily changed the name of his London-based pub to the Trump Arms to mark President Trump’s state visit to the UK this week.
This is the second time Damien Smyth from Ballinamore, who runs Bibby Mulligans pub in Kensington has changed the name of the pub for the duration of President Trump's state visit to the UK. This is the second time they have done so, previously in 2018 during Trump's first state visit to the UK.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio One, Smyth said he supports the US President: “He is a tremendous man, he has sacrificed his life and his family's lives to help his country and the world.”
“We just have a gathering of genuinely decent people who just love what he is doing and what he represents in our world.”
Smyth says he has received many American visitors following the pub changing its name the first time, as well as “a huge amount of support,” though he admits “there was a bit of abuse” too.
President Trump’s state visit was met with thousands of people protesting in London, with four activists being arrested by police after pictures of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were projected onto the walls of Windsor Castle earlier this week.
Smyth has also renamed the lounge of pub ‘The Charlie Kirk Room’ to honour the controversial right-wing activist who was murdered by a gunman on a college campus in Utah last week. “A stately room which is becoming of him,” said Smyth.
“He was an inspiration to all young people,” said Smyth.
When asked what he thought of the pushback towards Kirk’s views around women, Black people, and the great replacement theory, Smyth said, “He was full of common sense, he was a beautiful family man.”
The room has a picture of Kirk hanging on the wall and a long table. They hope to have the room as a space for peaceful and respectful debate, says Smyth.