Letter: Northern Ireland could do worse than become the 51st state of the Union
A letter from David Stewart:
The News Letter often writes disapprovingly of Donald Trump, however I feel his second term presents Northern Ireland with a unique opportunity to escape orange/green politics by becoming part of the United States itself.
Whilst such an idea would have seemed absurd just a few weeks ago, Trump has made it clear territorial expansion is a key part of the Make America Great Again agenda and would surely welcome an approach from our leaders to seek statehood.
Northern Ireland may be an ocean away but has much stronger historic and cultural links to the US than Greenland (which Trump wishes to buy) and is actually geographically closer to Washington DC than Alaska or Hawaii.
A positive attitude towards the United States is one of the few things both communities here share and instead of fighting over being British or Irish we could embrace a new common identity as US citizens.
There would be no better way to increase US trade and investment than by becoming part of the vibrant American economy (and finally free of the NI Protocol/Windsor Framework tying us to the stagnant, over-regulated EU).
And as American citizens, the people of Northern Ireland would also enjoy the right to live and work in the continental United States without the need for a passport or visa.
Stormont would continue to exist as our state legislature and Northern Ireland would have a governor again for the first time since 1973.
Given the closeness of recent US elections, Northern Ireland would also upon admission instantly become a swing state vital to both parties and make us one of the most powerful places on Earth.
Whilst most readers may instantly dismiss this proposal or regard it as tongue-in-cheek Northern Ireland could (and probably will) do much worse than becoming the 51st state of the Union (or even 52nd if Trump annexes Canada first!).
David Stewart, Sion Mills