29/07/25 14:54

First Minister meets with the President of the United States

FM: “Window of opportunity for whisky”.

First Minister of Scotland John Swinney has met with the President of the United States Donald Trump in Aberdeenshire.

The meeting took place at MacLeod House on the Menie Estate ahead of the official opening of the second golf course at Trump International.

During his meeting with President Trump, Mr 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 First Minister was also unequivocal in demanding action to tackle the “unbearable, unjust and inhumane” situation unfolding in Gaza, as he urged the President to use his immense influence to bring an end to the humanitarian crisis.

During their meeting, the First Minister also stressed Scotland’s unwavering support for the people of Ukraine, urging President Trump to stand firm in defence of democracy and peace against Russian aggression.

Mr 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”.

Speaking after the meeting, the First Minister said:

“During our discussions, I was able to represent the interests and values of Scotland directly with the President, specifically, urging him to make the case for tariff exemptions for our world class whisky and salmon sector. I believe there is now a window of opportunity to make the case for whisky and at the invitation of the President, I intend to make further representation to him on this matter.

“I implored President Trump to use his immense influence on the Israeli government to end the unbearable, unjust, and inhumane situation unfolding in Gaza, and to bring an end to the humanitarian crisis we are witnessing.

“As a proud country that stands firm on the principles of equality and freedom for all, I urged President Trump to help make those ideals – American ideals – a reality for the people of Ukraine. Scotland has consistently stood with the people of Ukraine in defence of freedom, peace and a just society, and we want to see a world where those principles apply to all.”

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Notes to editors

In advance of their one-to-one meeting, gifts were exchanged on behalf of First Minister John Swinney and the President of the United States Donald Trump.

First Minister John Swinney gifted the President two framed historical documents from the National Records of Scotland. The first frame includes two documents depicting his family connection to Scotland, while the second is a map of Lewis.

The President gifted the First Minister an American Bald Eagle Figurine which is the national emblem of the United States.

The first frame depicts two family documents. These are:

The first document is an entry for Mary Ann Macleod and family enumerated in the 1921 Scotland census, Stornoway, Ross and Cromarty. Crown copyright, NRS, 1921/88/21, page 11.

This is an extract from the 1921 Scotland census for Stornoway, the capital of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides on the west coast of Scotland.

In this 1921 census extract, President Donald Trump’s late mother, Mary Ann, aged 9, and her family are enumerated at 5 Tong: her parents, Malcolm Macleod and Mary, both aged 55; her four elder siblings, twins Katie Ann, and William, both aged 24, and Catherine, 20, Mary Joan, 16, and Alexander, 13, as well as her niece, Annie, aged 6 months. They were all born in Ross, Stornoway, except for Annie, who was born in Lanark, Old Monkland, on the mainland of Scotland.

The second document is a marriage entry for Alexander and Ann MacLeod in the Old Parish Register of Marriages, Stornoway, 3 December 1853. Crown copyright, NRS, OPR088/2, page 426.

National Records of Scotland is the custodian of the records of the Church of Scotland, which includes the Old Parish Registers (or OPRs). The OPRs comprise the records of births and baptisms, banns and marriages and deaths and burials kept by the individual parishes of the Church of Scotland before the introduction of civil registration in 1855.

The parish minister or session clerk normally assumed responsibility for maintaining these registers. In this extract from the OPR for marriages for Stornoway parish, the register was maintained by The Reverend John Cameron. The marriage entries are brief but include halfway down this page the marriage of President Donald Trump’s maternal great-grandparents on 3 December 1853.

The second frame is the Blaeu Atlas of Scotland from 1654.

This map of Lewis, showing the village of Tong as Tonga, was published as part of the splendid 1660s "Blaeu Atlas Maior", also known as the Cosmographia Blaviana.

The Blaeu Atlas Maior brought to fruition the largest map publishing project the world had seen. Its 594 maps and 3,368 pages of texts collectively presented the state of geographic knowledge of the world in the mid-17th century. Volume VI of the work was devoted to maps of Scotland and Ireland, based on the original mapping of Scottish minister and cartographer Timothy Pont. The Atlas Maior was the most expensive book that could be acquired in the mid-17th century - a lavish and splendid item for display by its powerful and wealthy customers.