Conor McGregor Says He’s No Longer Planning To Run In Ireland’s Presidential Election

Conor McGregor, the mixed martial arts fighter, said that he is no longer planning to run in next month’s presidential election in Ireland.

McGregor wrote on X, “Following careful reflection, and after consulting with my family, I am withdrawing my candidacy from this presidential race. This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one at this moment in time.

“While I will not contest this election, my commitment to Ireland does not end here. I will continue to serve my people by using my international platform to promote Irish interests abroad, to strengthen our economic opportunities, and to advocate for transparency and responsibility in public life at home. This campaign has sparked an important conversation about democracy in Ireland about who gets to stand, who gets to choose, and how we can ensure that the presidency truly belongs to the people. That conversation will not end with my withdrawal.”

Per the BBC, he made his announcement just before he was due to address the Dublin City Council and Kildare County Council, as he was to seek nominations to get his name on the ballot.

McGregor has been posting of his desire to run in the election. In his post, he also wrote that Ireland was being constrained “by the straitjacket of an outdated Constitution that is selectively upheld by the main Oireachtas parties, and exploited to prevent a true democratic Presidential election being contested, but rather fixed to ensure only Establishment approved candidates may be selected on the ballot.”

He also railed against “a malevolent political witch-hunt working together with the mainstream media supercharged Fake News.” Last year, McGregor was found liable for assaulting a woman after a night of partying in a Dublin hotel penthouse in 2018. He lost his appeal earlier this year, per the BBC.

McGregor met with Donald Trump at the White House earlier this year, and even spoke to reporters in the briefing room.