A candidate in the Alba leadership contest has said she has “common ground” with recently-elected US President Donald Trump. Ash Regan, who said she thought Trump would defeat Democrat Kamala Harris in November, said she agreed with him on women’s sex-based rights.
Regan was an SNP Minister in Nicola Sturgeon’s Government before resigning over plans to make it easier for trans people to change their gender. She later defected to Alba, a rival pro-independence party, and is up against former MP Kenny MacAskill in the contest to succeed the late Alex Salmond.
Speaking to the Record, she spoke about the recent presidential election in which Trump’s campaign blitzed voters with anti-trans ads.
After his inauguration, he signed an executive order proclaiming the US Government will recognise only two sexes, male and female.
Asked who she had wanted to win, she appeared to aim a dig at First Minister John Swinney who backed Harris ahead of the vote: “To be honest, I didn’t really take a view on it this time. Unlike some other people here, I thought it was wise not to be expressing an opinion ahead of time about who you thought should win.”
She was also asked who she would have voted for had she had a vote: “I certainly have some common ground with Trump – and I never thought I would say this – on the sex issue in terms of women versus men. So I certainly have common ground with him on that.
“I felt that the other side were seriously getting themselves into trouble, they were not resonating with the public on that issue. This is an important issue to people. They want to feel that women and girls can be safe in their single sex spaces, that women’s sports are for women. I think that was a key issue”
Regan added that she did not have much in common with Trump on “many other things”. She also hit the headlines recently after urging Trump ally Elon Musk to build a Tesla gigafactory in Scotland.
Green MSP Maggie Chapman said: “If I shared any common ground on women’s rights or equalities issues with Donald Trump I would be very concerned. The war he has waged against trans people, migrant communities, religious minorities and abortion access should appall anyone who has even the slightest shred of concern for human rights.
“The prejudice, far right conspiracy theories and rampant racism of Donald Trump need to be called out and taken on, not pandered to.”
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