A former Scottish Secretary has promised to write about welcoming Donald Trump to Scotland in his memoirs.
Tory MP David Mundell met the US President when he visited Scotland in 2018. Mundell greeted Trump as he and his wife Melania disembarked from Air Force One at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire on his way to his Turnberry golf course.
The American snubbed Nicola Sturgeon and met no members of the Scottish Government. The then-first minister denied she had refused to meet him.
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP Mundell told the House of Commons on Wednesday: “When President Trump visited Scotland during his first presidency, I was tasked with officially welcoming him and the details of that will appear in my memoir.
“Whilst we may disagree with President Trump on many specific issues, it is clear that he has a deep affection for Scotland, with the birth of his mother on the Isle of Lewis and his huge investment in Scottish golf at Turnberry and the north-east. So, what will the Secretary of State for Scotland do to encourage economic benefit during the Trump second presidency?”
Labour Scottish Secretary Ian Murray replied: “Yes, the President does have a deep affection for Scotland, he also has a deep affection for (Mundell), I’m sure, and I hope that it appears in his memoirs. I’m sure there will be some rare unsigned copies for people to buy when it’s published.
“The Prime Minister has been clear with the Foreign Secretary, who met President Trump and has been working very closely with the transition team.
“Of course, Scotland is a key marketplace in terms of the USA and it’s not in anybody’s interest, whether it be here in the United Kingdom or indeed in America, for tariffs to be put on Scottish goods, and we’re working very closely with both the Government here, and of course the government in America, to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
SNP First Minister John Swinney has already spoken to Trump and has said that he would meet him if he visits Scotland.
The 78-year-old American President owns a golf course in Aberdeenshire as well as Turnberry. His mother was from the Isle of Lewis. Western Isles MP Torcuil Crichton invited him to the his mother’s home island last month.
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