'Sinister': Rape crisis center says White House guest trying to 'launder' his reputation
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre wrote to the U.S. embassy in Ireland to discuss concerns about a meeting President Donald Trump had with mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor on Monday's St. Patrick's Day.
The Guardian reported Wednesday that the group's chief executive Rachel Morrogh pointed out McGregor was found liable for rape in an Irish civil court four months ago.
She said that the White House meeting sends the message that “there is a path to redemption leading directly to the White House."
“We do believe that the meeting between Trump and Conor McGregor was really very sinister and we have called it out for what it is, which is … an attempt to rebuild the very damaged reputation of Conor McGregor," Morrogh continued.
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“I think what has really shocked us is that the office of the president of the United States, which is so respected and so revered, is being used to launder Conor McGregor’s reputation," she added.
McGregor was ordered by a civil court in November to pay £210,000 in damages to a woman who alleged he “brutally raped and battered” her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018, said The Guardian.
He claimed it was consensual and intends to appeal. The report noted there's a hearing on the matter in Dublin on Friday.
"McGregor, a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion, used his platform at the White House to hit out at the Irish government over immigration," The Guardian reported.
McGregor claimed Ireland was “potentially losing its Irishness” and alleged some rural towns had been “overrun in one swoop."
The Guardian pointed out that McGregor has been "supported by figures including the self-styled misogynist influencer Andrew Tate and anti-immigration campaigners in Ireland whose reach has been turbocharged by Musk’s retweets."
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said his “heart fell” when he heard about the meeting between Trump and Mcgregor.