DONALD Trump’s top UK aide last night branded Greens boss Patrick Harvie a national embarrassment over his “mindless ranting” about the President-elect.
MSP Mr Harvie yesterday stepped up his attacks on Mr Trump, urging SNP ministers to snub the incoming US leader if he visits Scotland this year, as expected.
2
The Scottish Greens co-leader – in government at Holyrood until last year – said the Republican chief was “racist, climate-wrecking and misogynistic” and responsible for “divisive and hateful politics”.
And Mr Harvie said: “I urge the First Minister and his colleagues to turn down any meeting requests while he is here.
“Political relationships with other countries are important, but those relationships should be focused on those who share civilised values and respect for basic democratic norms.”
But Sarah Malone, executive vice-president of Trump International Golf Links – the most senior and trusted member of Trump’s team in Scotland – said: “Patrick Harvie’s puerile behaviour and mindless ranting is an embarrassment to Scotland and does a great disservice to our country.
“Aside from the colossal investment into the Scottish economy from the Trump family, the fact he is attacking the incoming president of the United States using such language is risible.”
Mr Harvie – whose Greens were ditched from government by ex First Minister Humza Yousaf last year – has launched repeated attacks on Mr Trump since he won the US presidential election in November.
The incoming president, who takes office on January 20, has close ties with Scotland due to his mother Mary MacLeod being from the Isle of Lewis, and now his business interests here.
Following the US election, his son Eric Trump has said his dad would visit Scotland in 2025 for the opening of a new golf course at his Aberdeenshire resort at Menie.
The MacLeod Course – named after his mother – is expected to open in summer and Trump International has claimed it will feature the “largest sand dunes in Scotland” and form “the greatest 36 holes in golf” alongside the existing course.
Mr Trump’s last visit to Scotland as president in 2018 sparked a major security operation, including at his other golf resort in Turnberry, Ayrshire.
First Minister John Swinney – who publicly backed losing Democrat candidate Kamala Harris – has sought to build bridges with Mr Trump since the election, including by writing to him and congratulating him on his victory.
Last night, a spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “As the First Minister said in the Scottish Parliament, while there will be political differences from one government to another, it is the duty of the Scottish Government to promote and protect the interests of Scotland.
“The USA is one of Scotland’s most important markets and source of inward investment.
“We greatly appreciate the strong and lasting social, cultural and economic ties we have with the United States.
“Scottish ministers will work to make sure these ties continue to flourish, consistent with the values that underpin Scotland and the United States.”
