First Minister John Swinney has said he would not refuse to meet Donald Trump if he visits Scotland, after the Scottish Greens urged ministers not to do so.
The US president-elect, who is due to be inaugurated for the second time on January 20, is expected to visit Scotland this year, his son told the PA news agency in November.
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie has urged the First Minister and his colleagues to turn down any meeting requests with Mr Trump while he is here, citing his stance on human rights, equality and other issues.
However Mr Swinney said “I don’t think people would understand what I was doing if I refused to meet with the President of the United States”.
Asked by the Holyrood Sources podcast whether he would turn down a meeting request with Mr Trump, the First Minister said: “I couldn’t do that.
“I’m the First Minister of Scotland, and I’d have to engage with the President of the United States if he wished to engage with me.
“And I accepted a phone call from President Trump.
“I thought that was the right thing to do, we had a perfectly cordial conversation.
“He expressed his very, very deep, enthusiastic admiration for Scotland and I expressed to him the topics that matter to us.
“I took the opportunity to mention the significance of the whisky industry.
“I didn’t raise the issue of tariffs with him, but I was putting the issue of whisky on his radar as it matters to me in my role as First Minister, to support key industries in our country.
“So I just think, I don’t think people would understand what I was doing if I refused to meet with the President of the United States.”
Mr Trump is due to be inaugurated for the second time on January 20 after beating current US Vice-President Kamala Harris in November.
Mr Trump’s son Eric told the PA news agency in November his father would visit Scotland in 2025 for the opening of a new golf course at his club in Aberdeenshire, one of the two he owns in the country.
Mr Harvie, a frequent critic of Mr Trump, said on Monday: “With the prospect of Donald Trump coming to Scotland for the opening of his golf course, it is crucial that our Government takes a stand for human rights, equality and the other values that Trump has done so much to oppose.
“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.”
Responding to Mr Harvie’s comments, Sarah Malone, executive president of Trump International Scotland, which manages the president-elect’s interests 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.”
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.”
