DUBLIN — President Donald Trump said Saturday that he would like to see the island of Ireland reunified, an unexpected intervention in one of Europe’s most sensitive political disputes. Speaking alongside Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Farmleigh House in Dublin, Trump said he could not understand why Northern Ireland had not already joined the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland has remained part of the United Kingdom since most of the island became independent more than a century ago. “I’d love to see it unified. I think it’d be great,” Trump said. “It’s going to happen eventually.” He added that the United Kingdom would have a say, but called reunification “a fantastic thing.” The comments came during a visit Trump described as focused largely on golf. He acknowledged later that his remarks would generate attention, telling guests at the U.S. ambassador’s residence that a united Ireland would be “a very cool thing.” The Democratic Unionist Party, Northern Ireland’s main pro-British party, quickly rejected Trump’s position. DUP leader Gavin Robinson said Northern Ireland remains in the United Kingdom because that reflects the democratic will of its people. “As unionists we are not interested in the destruction of our country by joining with the Irish Republic,” Robinson wrote on X. Northern Ireland’s constitutional status was largely settled by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended most of three decades of conflict that killed nearly 3,700 people. Under the agreement, Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom unless a majority of voters chooses otherwise in a referendum. Opinion polls have generally continued to show support for remaining in the United Kingdom. At the same time, demographic and political shifts have strengthened calls for a vote on Irish unity. Protestant unionism, once the region’s clear majority tradition, has declined, while Irish nationalist parties have pressed more forcefully for a referendum, particularly since Brexit altered Northern Ireland’s economic relationship with Britain and the Republic of Ireland, which remains in the European Union. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the debate over unity had changed and urged Martin to begin preparations. Sinn Féin leads Northern Ireland’s cross-community government but is the main opposition party in the Republic of Ireland, where Martin’s government faces pressure from the party. The Social Democratic and Labour Party, another Irish nationalist party, welcomed Trump’s comments more playfully. Speaking at the party’s conference in Belfast, leader Claire Hanna joked that Trump was “not as orange as he looks,” a reference both to his appearance and to the Orange Order, a major Protestant unionist organization. Martin has sought better relations with unionists and has not committed his government to immediate planning for a unity referendum. Trump’s remarks put fresh attention on that cautious approach while underscoring how even an off-the-cuff statement by a U.S. president can reverberate through the still-divided politics of Northern Ireland.