US vice president Mike Pence is set to visit Ireland in early September (Niall Carson/PA)

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump confused Ireland and the UK while answering questions about a post-Brexit trade deal and listed Doonbeg among his properties in Britain.

The gaffe came at a press conference at the end of the G7 Summit in France, when he was asked by a British reporter about claims he would “do over” the UK in a future free trade deal.

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Mr Trump insisted he wouldn’t. “I love the UK,” he said, pointing out that he owns properties there - and listed Doonbeg in Co Clare, very much not in the United Kingdom, among them.

The US President visited his Irish hotel and golf resort in June and held talks with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at nearby Shannon Airport.

Expand Close US vice president Mike Pence is set to visit Ireland in early September (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp US vice president Mike Pence is set to visit Ireland in early September (Niall Carson/PA)

US vice-president Mike Pence is due to visit the Co Clare village when he arrives in Ireland next month.

Mr Trump’s blunder came as he rejected any suggestion he would be unfair to the UK in a future trade deal.

“No, no, no. I love the UK. I own property in the UK. I love the UK.

“I have no idea how my property is doing because I don’t care, but I own Turnberry [in Scotland] and I own in Aberdeen and I own in Ireland as you know – Doonbeg – great stuff.”

US reporters were quick to pick up on the error with NBC News’s White House Correspondent tweeting that Mr Trump listed Doonbeg among the other hotels and pointing out that it is “located in the Republic of Ireland and not in the UK.”

CNN Reporter Daniel Dale also posted: “Doonbeg is in Ireland”.

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Earlier Mr Trump praised the new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and said he believes he will achieve a Brexit deal before the deadline of October 31.

He said Mr Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May “wasn’t able to do a deal”. “I gave her my ideas as to doing the deal very early on and you possibly know what they are but I would have done that," he said.

“She chose to do it her way and that didn’t work out so well. I think she’s a very, very good person”.

Mr Trump said he believes Boris Johnson will be a “great prime minister”.

He added: “We like each other. We had a great two-and-a-half days. I’ve been waiting for him to be prime minister for about six years. I told him ‘what took you so long?’”

He described Mr Jonson as “very smart and very strong” and “very enthusiastic”.

He told the British reporter who asked the question: “And you know what else? He loves your country. He really loves your country.”

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