DONALD Trump’s visit to Scotland is unwelcome and should be met with mass protests, the Scottish Greens have said.
It comes after the president elect’s son confirmed his father would visit Scotland in the next year for the opening of a new golf course in Aberdeenshire.
He also said Trump would not “lose any sleep” over John Swinney (below) endorsing Kamala Harris in the US election.
Reacting to news of the visit, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “I am certain that Donald Trump’s visit will be met with protests and anger.
“Scotland must be loud and clear that we do not agree with his toxic values or his harmful business ventures.
“He is a dangerous, fraudulent, misogynistic, climate-change denier who claims to love our country while destroying our natural landscapes with garish golf courses and resorts for the wealthy.”
Following Trump’s US election victory, Swinney sent a letter to him saying he wanted both countries to have a good relationship and wished the president-elect well.
Eric Trump said he still wanted to work with the Scottish Government but said it had made it “virtually impossible” to do business in Scotland.
Asked about the comments from Eric Trump, Swinney said: "I think what's important is that when you get asked a question as a politician, you just give the answer that you think you should give, and I gave the answer that I thought I should give.
"But I recognise that we've all moved on since then. We've had the US election, president-elect Trump is getting ready for office.
"I've expressed our good wishes to president-elect Trump and set out that Scotland will work with the United States according to the values that we all share."
Harvie added: “We must keep in mind that this is a man (Trump) whose vitriol and misinformation incited violence in his own country, and continues to breed hate and division.
“He represents everything that we as a nation do not wish to be. His investments here in Scotland have already been cited as part of a recent criminal case in New York, which is why we have consistently called for the Scottish Government to issue an Unexplained Wealth Order to investigate his dealings.”
Harvie further urged the Scottish Government to “turn down any meeting requests” with Trump and said, “we should not be legitimising his toxic brand of politics”.
The Scottish Greens co-leader previously clashed with Swinney after the FM congratulated Trump on his US election win.
“The real ‘special relationship’ we must work on with the United States is with the marginalised communities that his far-right ideology wishes to tear apart, and with those doing their best to advance climate action in the face of an incoming government that’s a direct threat to our global life support system,” Harvie said.
