DONALD Trump has responded after John Swinney officially endorsed Kamala Harris as the next US president.
On Thursday, the First Minister said: “People in the United States of America should vote for Kamala Harris – and I have not come to that conclusion only because Donald Trump is opposed to Scottish independence.”
It comes after Trump intervened in the independence debate whilst appearing on a podcast, saying he hopes the UK “always stays together”.
Trump’s team has since responded, with Trump International Scotland claiming that Swinney’s comments were an “insult to the massive investment in Scotland made by the Trump family”.
Sarah Malone, executive vice president of Trump International Scotland, said: “The Trump family has shown unwavering commitment to Scotland – pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Scottish economy – and driving many tens of thousands of international visitors to Scotland every year.
“Around six hundred people – the majority of whom are Scottish – are employed directly by Trump businesses and many more local and national businesses thrive on supplying services to our resorts.
“It is appalling to see the First Minister, who talks of the need to encourage economic growth, insult this commitment and all the people involved in delivering world-class services here in Scotland.”
Trump has family ties to Scotland through his mother Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born in the small village of Tong on the Isle of Lewis.
She was born in 1912 and was the youngest of ten children in a Gaelic household.
Because of this, her first language was Scottish-Gaelic. However, she did later learn English when she attended school.
Her family lineage is well-established in the village with her mother being born here in 1867 to parents Donald and Mary Smith.
In 1930, as was common for islanders at this time, Mary Anne set sail for America on the RMS Transylvania.
When she arrived, she worked as a domestic servant and nanny before meeting Fred Trump and marrying him in 1936.
The US election will take place on November 5.
