Trump parting shot at 'terrible first minister' 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".

Sturgeon, who stood down as first minister in 2023, said the "feeling was mutual" and joked that it was "too late" to add Trump's endorsement to the front cover of her memoir, due to be released next month.

Nicola Sturgeon stood down as first minister after eight years in the role

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."

John Swinney attended the opening of Trump's new golf course in Aberdeenshire

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.

Sturgeon posted a response on Instagram on Wednesday afternoon.

"Feeling was mutual, Donnie. Forever proud to represent all the things that offend your view of the world," she wrote.

"PS I am RAGING that it's too late to put Donald's 'endorsement' on the front cover of my book. I suppose I'll just have to wait for the paperback."

She added: "You can of course read all about my 'interactions' with Trump in said book."

Trump left Scotland on Tuesday after the private visit 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.

These two leaders have history.

Nicola Sturgeon stripped Donald Trump of his Scottish business ambassador status and publicly challenged some of his rhetoric when she was first minister.

He called her a "woke extremist" when she resigned.

Ouch.

It's probably harder to think of two leaders further apart in both politics and style.

This is a president who likes to bring up past grudges. It was not just Nicola Sturgeon who got some of his ire.

Mr Trump called the London mayor Sadiq Khan a "nasty person" on this visit.

But two politicians who managed to avoid any negative barbs were the prime minister and Scotland's current first minister. He spoke about them both in glowing terms.

Given the sort of attacks Mr Trump is capable of, Sir Keir Starmer and John Swinney will chalk that up as a win.