Donald Trump’s planned visit to West Clare later this month is off.
It’s after reports surfaced that the FBI took the former US President’s passports during a recent search of his Florida home.
Mr. Trump and his family were due to stay at his Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg at the end of August.
It would have been his first visit to West Clare since 2019, and his first in a private capacity since 2015.
Additional security had been planned, with all former US Presidents entitled to Secret Service protection after they leave office unless they decline the privilege.
However, it emerged last week that the US Justice Department has been investigating boxes of records containing classified information taken to Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home after his presidency ended.
Court documents show 20 boxes of items were seized – some of them marked ‘Top Secret’.
The former president’s accused agents of taking his documents, calling it an “assault on a political opponent”.
Mr. Trump has indicated the FBI obtained three of his passports, though officials in the US insist this is not the case.
Regardless, the episode has seen Mr. Trump and his family’s planned visit to Doonbeg next week shelved.
Clare FM understands the event is now not happening, with no alternative date planned.
The development is set to be met with disappointment in the West Clare area, with many having expressed hope that Mr Trump’s visit would have put the coastal protection project at Doughmore Beach, which was denied planning permission by An Bord Pleanala back in 2020, back on the agenda.
