Trump parting shot at ‘terrible first minister’ Nicola Sturgeon

Donald Trump has described Nicola Sturgeon as a “terrible first minister”, in a parting shot at the former SNP leader after his four-day trip to Scotland.

The US president was speaking to journalists on Air Force One following the visit where he met Scotland’s current first minister John Swinney.

Trump praised Swinney, but said he “did not have a lot of respect” for “the woman that preceded him”.

A source close to Sturgeon, who stood down as first minister in 2023, told BBC Scotland News that “the feeling was entirely mutual”.

Swinney spoke with Trump at a dinner for about two hours on Monday night.

The first minister said he made the case for granting Scotch whisky an exemption from US trade tariffs.

However, Trump told journalists on the presidential aircraft that the pair “did not really discuss” tariffs during the meeting.

But he said he had “a lot of respect” for Swinney.

Unprompted, he continued: “I didn’t have a lot of respect for the woman that preceded him.

“I thought she was terrible as a first minister of Scotland. But I think John is doing a very good job as first minister.”

When Trump was first elected as president in 2016, Sturgeon said it was “not the outcome” she wanted and described his comments and behaviour as “abhorrent”.

Sturgeon stood down as first minister after more than eight years in the role.

She was followed by Humza Yousaf until May 2024 when Swinney took over.

A source close to Sturgeon told BBC Scotland News: “Trump’s lack of respect for women is hardly news.

“That said, the feeling was entirely mutual”.

Trump left Scotland on Tuesday after the private vist to his golf resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire – where he opened a new course.

As well as meetings with Swinney, Trump also met UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and agreed a new tariff deal with EU commission president Ursula Von der Leyen.