Conor McGregor announces candidacy for the Irish presidency

After visiting Trump

MMA star Conor McGregor has political ambitions

He was a star in the MMA ring, now Conor McGregor also wants to go into politics in his homeland in his homeland. He reaches for the presidential office right away.

The former MMA fighter Conor McGregor has announced his candidacy for the Irish presidential office. In a message on Instagram, the controversial athlete announced that he would like to apply for the largely representative role and strive for anti-immigration.

McGregor said that he wants to compete against a new EU migration pact. This pact is intended to distribute the processing of asylum applications more evenly via the member states. “Who else will face the government and reject this law?” wrote McGregor on Instagram about his more than 46 million followers. “Any other presidential candidate that you try to suggest will not resist. I will do it!” Connor had shared a picture of himself and US President Donald Trump in the White House in his post.

He called for the implementation of a three-point plan from the Irish government to be implemented within twelve days. It is intended to restrict human trafficking, deport criminal immigrants in masses and better secure the border.

This announcement was made just a few days after McGregor’s appearance in the White House with Donald Trump on St. Patrick’s Day. There he introduced himself as the latest European ally of the US President against immigration-which led to controversy and criticism in his homeland. “Ireland is about to lose his identity,” said McGregor on Monday and claimed that the government had ignored the voices of the Irish and rural cities were overrun by immigrants.

The Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin criticized McGregor’s statements and said that they did not reflect the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day or the views of the Irish people.

The McGregor from Dublin was previously the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the first fighter to hold two UFC titles at the same time. According to Forbes, he was the highest paid athlete worldwide in 2021. Despite numerous rumors about a comeback, he has not fought in the UFC for four years and is controversial in Ireland for allegations of sexual assault – allegations that he denies.

In January, a woman submitted a civil lawsuit for sexual abuse during the NBA finals 2023 in Miami. The police investigated the incident at the time and the Miami-Dade public prosecutor’s office decided not to accuse him. McGregor described the allegations as wrong.

Lately, McGregor’s focus has increasingly shifted to conflicts on social media. Political analysts and experts for extreme rights have told CNN that McGregor’s special form of Irish patriotism had developed into a strand of the “extremely right” Irish nationalism.

As early as 2022, McGregor had expressed his support for protests against immigration. Some Irish politicians accuse him of stolling online and expressing his anger about Ireland’s immigration policy – a particularly sensitive topic in view of the long history of the country’s emigration.

Ireland with its just over five million inhabitants recorded 141,600 immigrated persons until April 2023 – the highest number in 16 years, according to the Central Statistics Office Ireland – attracted some attracted by the country’s strong economic performance.

The next presidential election in Ireland must take place by November 11th. In his Instagram post on Thursday, McGregor announced that the EU migration pact be subjected to a referendum in his election: “Although I reject this pact very much, it is neither mine nor the government’s decision. It is the decision of the Irish people!” He wrote. “This is the future of Ireland with me as president.”

However, McGregor’s path to the candidacy is likely to be difficult because only a few Irish MPs share their vehement anti-immigrant views; Many publicly criticized him after the civil trial last November. Presidential candidates must either be nominated by at least 20 members of the lower or upper house or four of the 31 local councils, according to the country’s electoral committee.