Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar praised America as a leader of “LGBT equality” and “marriage equality” while delivering brief remarks on Friday, St. Patrick’s Day, at the vice presidential residence in Washington, DC.
Speaking for less than five minutes, Varadkar described himself as belonging to the “LGBT community.” He celebrated Vice President Kamala Harris’s opposition to Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot proposition in California seeking to amend the state’s constitution to legally define marriage as a union between a man and woman.
Varadkar stated:
As doctors and as proud members of the LGBT community, allow us to say how inspired we’ve been by your personal advocacy for marriage equality — particularly in relation to Proposition 8 — and also your defense of the Affordable Care Act, from Stonewall to Sacramento to San Francisco.
America has led the way when it comes to LGBT equality. I don’t think I would be here today, were it not for what America did. I know you’ve been such a strong ally for our community in that regard. Thank you for that.”
Along with applauding Harris’s support for the Affordable Care Act, he commended the Biden administration’s approach towards the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We think of the extraordinarily brave people of Ukraine, who’ve endured more than a year of suffering at the hands of Russian invaders, and we stand with them for as long as it takes,” Varadkar said.
The Irish prime minister concluded, “Russia’s war is a threat to the international order on which we all rely. It is an affront to human decency, and we’ll work together to hold its perpetrators to account. Thank you for the leadership that the U.S. has shown on this issue, and thank you, Madam Vice President, on behalf of Ireland and all of Europe for your leadership on this most important matter.”
Follow Robert Kraychik on Twitter @rkraychik.
