Swinney’s decision to meet Trump’s son was ‘bad call’, says Green co-leader

John Swinney’s decision to meet with Donald Trump’s son at Bute House was a “very bad call”, Lorna Slater has said.

The Scottish Greens co-leader said the sit-down with Eric Trump at the First Minister’s official residence sent a “bad message”.

The pair met in Edinburgh on Thursday to discuss the Trump family’s business in Scotland, which includes a golf course at Turnberry in South Ayrshire and another one in Aberdeenshire.

In a statement, Trump said he did not discuss politics with the SNP leader – who has called for his father’s state visit to the UK to be cancelled due to his treatment of Ukraine.

Appearing on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme, Slater warned the First Minister he cannot trust the Trump family.

She said: “Donald Trump will turn on his friends and allies the instant he sees that it is in his interest to do so.

“Building up relationships with him is putting businesses at risk because he could turn on them at any time.

“Look at what’s happened to Canadian businesses just about overnight.”

She said the meeting was a “really bad call and a bad message to send that he [Mr Swinney] wants to be friends with Donald Trump and his businesses”.

She added: “There’s a completely different thing between the First Minister having a personal meeting with someone who’s part of the Trump empire.

“Of course, Scottish businesses are going to continue to have relationships with American businesses and Canadian businesses and European businesses.

“Of course, those business relationships are still there.

“It’s the message that the First Minister is sending about whose side he’s on.”

Slater said the UK must show it is on Europe’s side as she described the US president as “too risky an ally”.

She added: “There is a question about the message that the First Minister wants to send by meeting with Eric Trump in this way, and I just think the First Minister has made a bad call.

“This isn’t going to protect Scottish businesses. He is trying to show that he wants to be friends with Donald Trump. I don’t agree with that.

“Donald Trump isn’t welcome here, and his politics are not welcome here.”

Slater said the First Minister has “a choice” about which businesses he chooses to meet with.

She said it was the wrong choice for Mr Swinney to “signal support for the kind of businesses the Trump organisations support”.

She added: “The Trump Organisation has not proved to be the kind of business that we really want to see in Scotland.”

In a statement after their meeting, Eric Trump, the executive vice-president of the Trump Organisation, said Swinney had thanked him for the firm’s “colossal investment and commitment to Scotland”.

He said it had been a “very warm and friendly meeting”, noting it was the first time the Trump Organisation had been invited to Bute House.

Trump has previously criticised the First Minister, telling the PA news agency last year that Swinney was “nasty” for endorsing Kamala Harris over his father in the US election.

He also claimed the Scottish Government made it “virtually impossible” to do business in Scotland.

A spokesperson for the Government said after the meeting: “The First Minister welcomed Eric Trump, executive vice-president of the Trump Organisation, to Bute House to discuss the contribution Trump International provides to Scotland’s economy.

“The First Minister regularly meets with business people regarding investment in Scotland.

“The meeting with Mr Trump provided an opportunity to discuss Scotland’s investment potential and the First Minister was pleased to hear about the company’s continued commitment to Scotland, in particular Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire.”