TRUMP AT WAR WITH STURGEON
Storm as President flies in to Scotland amid shock claims he ‘hates’ the First Minister and bitches about her to PM
DONALD Trump flew in to Scotland last night after an extraordinary verbal attack on Nicola Sturgeon.
The US President was at the centre of a diplomatic storm after an ex-UK government official said he ‘totally hates’ the First Minister and spends ‘lots of time bitching’ about her in calls to Theresa May.
The explosive comments came as Mr Trump landed at Prestwick for a private golf holiday at his luxury Turnberry hotel with his wife, Melania, and dozens of business contacts.
His son, Eric, also fuelled the war of words by branding Miss Sturgeon a ‘shallow critic’ over her opposition to his father and outrage at his visit to the UK.
The put-down from the President was last night seen as a blow
to Miss Sturgeon’s ‘ambitions of being seen as a global stateswoman’.
Speaking to the Huffington Post yesterday, a former aide to Mrs May said: ‘He totally hates Nicola Sturgeon.
‘He spends lots of his time bitching about Sturgeon. He loathes Salmond too.’
But last night an SNP source hit back, saying: ‘Maybe the President doesn’t like people who are willing to tell him a few home truths, rather than just hold his hand.
‘That might also explain his treatment of [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel, who has tended to stand up to him.
‘In some ways it’s quite amusing to think of the President using time with the Prime Minister to rant about the First Minister, especially as she spends hardly any time talking about him.
‘She is too busy getting on with her job of making Scotland a better place to live for everyone who calls our country home.’
Miss Sturgeon – who stripped Mr Trump of his GlobalScot ambassador status during the US election campaign – will not meet him during his three-day ‘private’ visit to Scotland.
She will instead lead the Glasgow Pride parade today.
Mr Trump’s son Eric, 34, spoke out against his father’s critics yesterday while playing golf at his resort at Menie, in Aberdeenshire.
The 34-year-old criticised Miss Sturgeon for her attacks on his father over his comments on immigration.
Asked specifically about the response of politicians in Scotland to his father’s election victory, Eric Trump said: ‘There
‘He can probably see that she’s a separatist’
is always a big disconnect between citizens and politicians.
‘We have seen that in our own country often enough, but I guess we have thick skin.
‘If you look at the people in Aberdeen and Turnberry, they love what we have done to the two sites we have, and the hundreds of millions we have invested in the country.
‘It’s something that should be celebrated and not criticised. I think it takes a pretty shallow person to criticise it and many of these people are shallow.
‘They will come and go and we won’t – and we will still be here investing in these properties for generations to come.’
Miss Sturgeon is an open critic of the US President and his politics, with her deputy, Keith Brown, claiming Scotland is ‘united’ against him.
However, a Tory source said: ‘Like everyone else, the US President can probably see she’s a separatist with no intention of running a productive and responsible government.’
On his arrival at Prestwick Airport at around 8.30pm last night, Mr Trump and the First Lady, Melania, were greeted by Scottish Secretary David Mundell.
No Scottish Government representative was present.
Mr Trump declared that he ‘really loves Scotland’ and the couple were taken by motorcade straight to his Turnberry resort.
Mr Mundell said the arrival had been planned by the White House, which explained Miss Sturgeon’s absence.
‘The arrangements were made by the United States Government and I understand they did not invite the First Minister,’ he said.
Asked what the President had said to him, Mr Mundell replied: ‘He said he really loves Scotland and has been looking forward to playing golf in Scotland.
‘Mr Trump said that he has been in Scotland many times before, he was very pleased to be here as President.
‘He obviously feels strongly about his mother’s heritage. He is looking forward to playing golf at Turnberry.
‘He hopes that the weather will be conducive to that, as he understands it has been drier than usual here.’
Meanwhile, hundreds of people turned up in George Square, in Glasgow, to protest at the US President’s visit – including the SNP’s deputy leader, Mr Brown.
He asked the crowd: ‘Let’s do a poll here right now. Does Scotland love Trump?’ The crowd responded with a cry: ‘No’. Mr Trump’s arrival in Scotland marks the first presidential visit here since 2005 when George W Bush attended the G8 summit at Gleneagles, near Auchterarder, Perthshire.
It is understood that Mr Trump will play golf with his son and 40 businessmen who have been flown in to Turnberry.
This has triggered a furious backlash over the use of taxpayers’ cash. UK taxpayers are set to foot a £5million policing bill for the President’s stay north of the Border.
More than 5,000 officers have been drafted in to work this weekend providing security for the President, First Lady and his entourage – with holidays cancelled and compulsory overtime.
Downing Street and the White House have described the Scotland leg of his trip as ‘a private
‘Scottish roots important to him’
element’ with no official engagements planned.
However, Scotland’s force will be responsible for policing the event.
Yesterday, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard launched a scathing attack on Mr Trump, insisting that he was using the visit to ‘line his own pocket’.
Mr Leonard said: ‘The UK faces a £5million Trump tax while he seeks to further his own business empire on a Scottish golf course.
‘Clearly, the only trade deal Donald Trump is interested in striking
in the UK is one that lines his own pocket.’
Speaking in Aberdeenshire this week, Eric Trump claimed that his trip to Scotland had been planned before his father’s – and that it was a happy accident they had been able to plan an event together.
He said: ‘We had it planned a little bit before and they happened to link up, so it’s exciting.
‘I don’t get to see him [his father] nearly as much as I used to get to see him and I’m excited to spend a couple of days with him. We’re going to have a great time.’
Since taking over as President in 2017, Mr Trump has faced continued allegations that he is exploiting his position for business gain.
Eric Trump claimed his father’s visit is a ‘great thing for international relations’ and that his Scottish roots remained important to him.
The President’s mother, Mary, was born on the Isle of Lewis, where she lived before moving to the United States.
But he will not be visiting his mother’s former home and is expected to remain on the mainland. Eric Trump claimed that his father could make a last-minute trip to Aberdeen.