Scotland’s first minister hosted a “warm” meeting with Donald Trump’s son Eric in Edinburgh on Thursday, days after the US president’s golf course at Turnberry was targeted by protesters.
John Swinney met Eric Trump at his official residence, a listed Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh’s New Town, for what both sides described as a routine business meeting that focused on the Trump family’s golfing interests.
Scottish officials suspect the US president will visit Scotland this summer to open a second championship course at his smaller golf resort in Aberdeenshire. That opening event, expected in June, was touched on during the meeting, but a presidential visit was not discussed.
The meeting, which is Swinney’s first with any member of the Trump family, took place amid rising tensions between the UK and the White House over the Trump administration’s stance on Ukraine and the punitive tariffs it has introduced, including on British steel and aluminium.
The visit suggests Trump is keen to restore friendly links with Scotland, where he owns the Turnberry golfing resort in Ayrshire and a boutique hotel and golf course north of Aberdeen.
Eric Trump, the organisation’s executive vice-president, said: “I’m delighted to say that it was a very warm and friendly meeting and this is the first time that a first minister has invited us to Bute House.
“The first minister thanked me for the Trump Organization’s ongoing colossal investment and commitment to Scotland. This is the first time that I’ve heard those words from the first minister and they were hugely appreciated.”
Swinney’s spokesperson insisted there was nothing unusual about the event. “This is not a political meeting, it’s a business meeting,” he said. “We are trying to act as a responsible government would and treat business figures in the same way.”
Lorna Slater, the Scottish Greens’ co-leader, said the meeting was “a bad call that sends a terrible message”.
“When it comes to the Trumps, the line between business and politics has always been blurred.
“Eric Trump is not a normal businessman. He is a rightwing extremist that has peddled misinformation and conspiracy theories. He is a figurehead for an administration that is wrecking our planet while cosying up to Vladimir Putin and showing total contempt for human rights and democracy.”
Until now, Donald Trump has had a chilly relationship with the Scottish government. He publicly fell out with the former first minister Alex Salmond over the latter’s backing for offshore windfarms near Trump’s Aberdeenshire course.
Keir Starmer presented Trump with an invitation from King Charles for a second state visit at the White House late last month.
Swinney has faced intense pressure from within the Scottish National party to condemn the proposal. Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said on X that the prime minister “better get back up off his knees and revoke that offer of a state visit”.
Swinney has rejected those challenges, and told MSPs at Holyrood last week that the state visit should only be reconsidered if Trump continued to threaten and undermine the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Otherwise, he said, Starmer’s offer of a second state visit was prudent given the seriousness of the crisis in Ukraine.
Eric Trump is also expected to visit Turnberry, where pro-Palestinian activists heavily damaged parts of his golf course and sprayed pro-Gaza protest slogans on the grass on Saturday.
