First Minister John Swinney has said Donald Trump was “pleasant company” after meeting the US President during his visit to Scotland.
The SNP leader had dinner with Trump at his golf resort in Aberdeenshire on Monday night before the pair had a 15-minute one-to-one on Tuesday morning.
It was the first time the two leaders had met face-to-face, and Swinney said they had “perfectly valuable and courteous conversations”.
“I appreciated the time and opportunity to engage with [Trump] as I would with any world leader that came to Scotland,” the First Minister said.
“He was pleasant company to be with.”
Getty ImagesWhen asked if he had liked the President, Swinney said his “personal feelings about people are irrelevant”.
Over the past two days, the First Minister has talked to the President about the war in Gaza, the Scottish economy, oil and gas taxation, and trade and tariffs — particularly on Scottish whisky.
Swinney urged the President to consider economic protections for Scotland’s whisky and salmon sector, including an exemption for whisky from the 10% tariff applied on UK exports into the US.
“The tariffs at the moment are costing the Scottish whisky industry £4m a week. If we could get those tariffs removed, that would be significantly good news for jobs and employment within Scotland,” Swinney told STV news.
On Monday, before meeting Swinney, Trump said he “didn’t know” tariffs on Scottish whisky were an issue, but the First Minister said the President had seemed “willing to listen” to the arguments he put forward.
“I can’t speak for President Trump. All I can do is make Scotland’s case, and I’ve had extensive opportunities to do that,” he said.
Swinney also presented the President with a proposal to provide Edinburgh Airport with US Customs pre-clearance facilities which the First Minister said would help “demonstrate the strength of America’s enduring relationship with its friend and partner, Scotland”.
“My duty as First Minister is to protect and promote the interests of the people of Scotland,” he said.
“I think over the course of the last few days, I’ve done exactly that, and I think we’ll get good outcomes as a consequence.”
Before leaving the US, Trump had said he was looking forward to meeting Swinney who he described as a “good man”.
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