Advisors close to former President Donald Trump have sounded an alarm over the recent surge in violence in Belfast, triggered by anti-immigration sentiments. This unrest follows the arrest of a Sudanese asylum seeker accused of attempted murder.
Jack Posobiec, a prominent MAGA commentator with strong connections to the Trump administration, referred to the situation as ‘the new Troubles.’ The term evokes memories of the intense sectarian conflict between Catholics and Protestants that plagued Northern Ireland for three decades.
The city of Belfast once again finds itself engulfed in turmoil, reminiscent of those dark days. However, this time, the anger unites both Catholics and Protestants. The unrest was sparked by the case of Hadi Alodid, an asylum seeker charged following an alleged knife attack that left Stephen Ogilvie in a coma, resulting in the loss of his left eye.
Steve Bannon, an influential Trump ally, described the incident as a significant ‘tripwire’ for British politics. He criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer for focusing his condemnation on the rioters rather than addressing the underlying issues.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, an official from the Trump administration remarked, “Across the Atlantic, both Americans and Europeans are confronting a harsh truth: our societies are grappling with a profound challenge posed by an influx of populations perceived as incompatible, originating from the Third World.”
A Trump administration official told the Daily Mail: ‘On both sides of the Atlantic, Americans, Irishmen, and Englishmen are waking up to a stark reality: our homelands are beset by a crippling pestilence manifesting as an incompatible populace, imported from the Third World.’
The attack comes just days after the UK erupted in outrage at the murder of Henry Nowak by a Sikh man, sparking condemnation from JD Vance and Marco Rubio.
Disturbing footage appeared to show a man attempting to hack into his victim’s neck before heroic bystanders, one wielding a hurling stick, hauled him off the victim
Police attempt to clear protesters near Newtownabbey, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Wednesday, June 10
Belfast erupted in flames this week, scenes grimly reminiscent of the Troubles, the Catholic-Protestant sectarian violence that plagued Britain for half a century
Masked youths block a road with burning debris in north Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the evening of June 9
Vehicles set on fire by protesters on Lendrick Street in Belfast
A burning bus is seen as protesters gather on the Newtownards road in east Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the evening of June 9
‘You’re going to hit their tripwire. And once you hit their tripwire, these are tough hombres,’ Bannon said of the men taking to the streets, speaking on his War Room show.
‘These are working class people, middle class people, and they’re not going to sit there and tolerate this continually, pushed by the elites in London and Dublin, who are all globalist, right?
‘This is the anti-nationalist just trying to jam this down their people’s throat. So this could be pretty intense and hopefully gets channeled into positive nationalism.
‘But I’ve got to tell you, you’ve got to throw down at first because they don’t listen until you throw down hard.’
Starmer reserved much of his fury for the rioters when he addressed Parliament on Wednesday.
‘People are rightly sickened by the horrific attack on Monday night in north Belfast. As you have just said, the man arrested has been in court in Belfast this morning and charged,’ he told MPs at Prime Minister’s Questions.
‘I want to thank the Police Service of Northern Ireland and other first responders and members of the public who responded with such bravery, and our thoughts are with the victim. But let me be clear, the acts of violence and arson that followed are totally unjustified.’
Bannon tore into Starmer’s response, accusing him of attacking British citizens for the crimes of migrants.
‘Not one comment about what these migrants are destroying,’ he said.
Steve Bannon at the National Conservatism Conference at the Westin Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. on September 4, 2025 Washington DC
Jack Posobiec speaks at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington D.C., Sept. 3, 2025
Flames and thick black smoke rise from a burning bus during unrest on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on June 9
Posobiec called the footage ‘one of the most horrific things’ he had ever seen.
‘What’s happened now in Belfast is Northern Ireland is responding that they are done with the migration policies. They are completely done with everything you’re seeing,’ Posobiec said.
Alodid, 30, was remanded in custody on Wednesday after appearing in court in Belfast charged with attempted murder over Monday’s knife attack.
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.
It comes after the Nowak case exploded worldwide after video showed the dying teenager being handcuffed by police, with the killer, a Sikh man, claiming he had been the victim of racial abuse.
JD Vance and the US State Department issued statements condemning the police response and the UK’s immigration policy.
There should be ‘righteous anger’ in response to the killing, Vance said in a post on X on Friday, blaming it in part on ‘the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it.’
Starmer’s office hit back at Vance, criticizing people ‘trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets.’
‘The Nowak family are grieving after Henry’s horrific murder. They have said they do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We should be respecting their wishes,’ Downing Street said in a statement.
‘Our politics should bring people together even in the most terrible of circumstances. That is who we are as a country.’
