JOHN Swinney has congratulated Donald Trump just days after being blasted by the US President for supporting Kamala Harris.
The leader of the SNP recently announced his support for Trump‘s Democrat opponent in the run up to the election.
The First Minister previously called on Americans to vote for Ms Harris and insisted it had nothing to do with Scottish independence after the Union was backed by Mr Trump.
But after his crushing victory in the race for the White House, Mr Swinney took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate the President-elect.
He wrote: “Congratulations to President-elect Trump on his election.
“Scotland and the USA share many social, cultural and economic links.
“In that relationship, we will stand fast in support of our values of fairness, democracy and equality – ideals that America was built upon.”
Asked this morning if a Trump presidency could hit jobs in Scotland due to the possible imposition of tariffs on Scottish whisky and other products, the First Minister said: “It potentially could as a consequence of tariffs, not just on Scottish whiskey but other products.
“We have to be aware that tariffs can be very damaging to domestic employment in Scotland because we are an exporting country.”
And when asked if he thought the USA would regret the election of Mr Trump, the SNP leader said there was a “lot of water to go under the bridge”.
But he added: “We will have to wait and see what emerges.
“But I think the nature of some of the language and the expressions about other people I think, I understand why people are concerned this morning and we’ll just have to wait and see where it goes.”
At First Minister’s Questions last week, Mr Swinney said: “People in the United States of America should vote for Kamala Harris and I have not come to that conclusion only because Donald Trump is opposed to Scottish independence.”
But Mr Trump’s representatives hit back with a blistering attack on the First Minister’s comments, branding them an “insult to the massive investment in Scotland made by the Trump family“.
The newly-elected US leader owns golf resorts at Turnberry, Ayrshire, and Menie, Aberdeenshire.
In a statement, Sarah Malone, executive vice president of Trump International Scotland, said: “The Trump family has shown unwavering commitment to Scotland – pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Scottish economy – and driving many tens of thousands of international visitors to Scotland every year.
“Around 600 people – the majority of whom are Scottish – are employed directly by Trump businesses and many more local and national businesses thrive on supplying services to our resorts.
“It is appalling to see the First Minister, who talks of the need to encourage economic growth, insult this commitment and all the people involved in delivering world-class services here in Scotland.”