Guardian carries Trump's "may as well happen now"; CBC carries "I don't want to cause any problems"

What he said. All seven reports we hold carry Trump saying in Dublin on Saturday that he would "love to see" Ireland unified. They part on everything after.

What London said. Two reports quote a Downing Street spokesperson: Prime Minister Andy Burnham's view is that "there is no majority public support for another referendum, and until that changes, there will not be one".

Who answers. Three reports quote a unionist by name. DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the decision rests with "the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington". Three quote a pro-unity figure. Two carry no response at all.

Not settled. Who can call a referendum. CBC News says it is held "only at the discretion of the British government"; TheJournal.ie says London has agreed to hold one if it judges there is a majority for unity in Northern Ireland. No report we hold gives the test in full. None prints a number: one says polls show "a comfortable majority" for the union, with no figure, no pollster and no date.

What this is about. Whether Northern Ireland should stay in the United Kingdom or join the Republic of Ireland, and what it means when a US president takes a side.

How it got here.

• 1921: Ireland was partitioned. Six north-eastern counties stayed in the UK as Northern Ireland. The rest became independent and later became the Republic of Ireland.
• Late 1960s to 1998: the Troubles. For three decades there was violence between nationalists and republicans, who were mostly Catholic and wanted a united Ireland; unionists and loyalists, who were mostly Protestant and wanted to stay British; and the British state.
• 10 April 1998: the Good Friday Agreement ended the conflict. The United States helped broker it, and former US senator George Mitchell chaired the talks. The agreement set a principle of consent: Northern Ireland stays in the UK unless a majority there votes to leave. Under the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the UK's Northern Ireland Secretary must call a vote if it appears likely that a majority would back unity. Unity would also need a vote in the Republic.
• 2016: the UK voted to leave the EU, but Northern Ireland voted to remain. The border came back to the centre of politics on the island.
• 2022: Sinn Féin, which campaigns for unity, became the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time. Its vice-president, Michelle O'Neill, became First Minister in 2024.

Who is in it.

• The UK government decides whether a vote is called. Andy Burnham is Prime Minister.
• The Irish government is led by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who hosted Trump in Dublin.
• Unionist parties, the largest of which is the DUP under Gavin Robinson, want Northern Ireland to stay in the UK.
• Nationalist parties, Sinn Féin and the SDLP, want unity.
• The United States did not sign the agreement but has long backed the peace process.

What is at stake. A vote for unity would redraw a border that has stood for more than a century. Unionists say the decision belongs to Northern Ireland's voters alone, and they treat outside backing for unity as pressure on that decision. Nationalists treat the same backing as support.

Where it stands. No vote has ever been called under the 1998 Act. The Act does not say how the Secretary of State should judge whether a majority is likely, and that is still argued over. Downing Street says there will be no vote while it sees no majority support for one.