David Ross

The (Glasgow, Scotland) Herald

There will be no fiery cross sent round his mother’s native island, and there are no plans for a party at his two Scottish golf resorts.

Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th President of the United States of America on Friday is set for a low-key reception in Scotland, despite his family ties and business interests sparking such interest in recent years.

These have centered on his highly controversial multi-million-pound golf development on the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire; and his purchase of the $42 million Turnberry golf resort in South Ayrshire in 2014.

The billionaire has frequently crossed the Atlantic to promote these assets. But a spokeswoman for Trump International Golf Links at Menie, and her counterpart at Turnberry, confirmed they had no plans to host events to mark Trump’s installation as president.

Neither are there plans on the island of Lewis, where Trump's mother Mary Anne MacLeod grew up, for any public celebration apart from Tong Gaelic Choir holding a gathering in Stornoway Golf Club Friday night.

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Trump has relatives still living on the island, and in the house in the village of Tong that MacLeod left for America in 1930. But they have let it be known they do not want to speak about their famous relative.

Trump did make one flying visit in 2008 to see the island home his mother had frequently returned to throughout her life.

Across in northeastern Scotland, David and Moira Milne are not fans of the president-elect. They have been known to fly a Mexican flag on the roof of their home, a former coastguard station overlooking Trump’s clubhouse at Menie. Milne, an independent health and safety/environmental consultant, said: “I will not be watching the ceremony. I have better things to do with my time.

“But I actually have mixed feelings about a Trump presidency. In some ways it might work in our favor in that he should be preoccupied, rather than worrying about what is happening in Scotland.

“But the greater risk he poses to the planet as a whole, rather than a handful of households, is deeply troubling.

“This is one of the few times where I sincerely hope I am proven wrong about the man. I hope that he turns out to be an excellent American president and does a wonderful job for the U.S. and the rest of the planet. But past experience, makes me question whether that is possible, let alone likely."

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Milne, who opposed the golf development, had refused to sell the couple's house to Trump, who wanted to acquire their land.

“We have been at loggerheads for the best part of 10 years," he said. "It started with him arguing about the boundaries of our property, which the government had drawn up more than 50 years ago.

“Then there was the building of earth banks and planting trees round our property, knocking down the power line in the process.

“We have had to live with the continuing threat of compulsory purchase and people appearing on our doorstep telling us they normally get their way.

“Nothing has changed my mind on that front, not even his election as president.”

Another who will not be watching the inauguration is Martin Ford, the Aberdeenshire councilor who chaired the committee that first refused the Trump Organization’s initial planning application for Menie, thereby attracting stinging personal criticism from the developers.

He said: “It remains incredible to me that America with its deeply ingrained, long-standing democratic tradition, and its highly informed and well-educated electorate, made this choice. Mr. Trump is a narcissist.”