Swinney congratulates Trump after backing Harris
Scotland's First Minister John Swinney has congratulated Donald Trump after he declared victory in the US presidential election.
The SNP leader had backed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris - a move branded an "insult" by Trump's Scottish business.
But with the former president poised to re-enter the White House after winning three key battleground states, Swinney said Scotland shared many "many social, cultural and economic links" with the US.
He posted on X : "In that relationship, we will stand fast in support of our values of fairness, democracy and equality – ideals that America was built upon."
Trump, whose company owns two golf courses in Scotland, is half Scottish, with his mother Mary Anne MacLeod born and raised on the Isle of Lewis.
Speaking to reporters in the Scottish Parliament last week, Swinney said US voters should back Harris.
He added: "And I've not come to that conclusion only because Donald Trump is opposed to Scottish independence."
Swinney's endorsement came after Trump told a podcast that he hoped the UK "always stays together".
Trump International, which operates the golf resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire, called the comments "appalling".
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also sided with Harris ahead of the election.
He told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show the "world wins" if the US does not elect a "divisive figure".
"I think there's a reason why so many people in America, right across the globe, want to see the Democrats win or want to see Kamala Harris as president," he said.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton travelled to the US to campaign for Kamala Harris and has previously campaigned for Barak Obama in 2008.
He called Trump's victory "devastating" for the US, women, asylum seekers, the LGBTQ+ community and Ukraine.
"I'll never forget or regret my time helping out or the people I met," he posted on X . "Just I wish I'd done more."
'Dark day'
Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater also endorsed Harris.
Slater called Trump's victory a "dark day" for women, Ukraine, Gaza and the planet.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay, during his party's leadership contest, was asked who he would vote for in the US election if he could.
He told the Daily Record : "I don't have a vote. I'm a lot more interested in what happens in Scotland than in other countries. Many in the Scottish Parliament would do well to adopt the same approach, instead of parading as pound-shop diplomats."
Ahead of his presidential victory in 2016, Trump was criticised by every party leader in Scotland.
Asked what they would do if phoned by Trump, then first minister Nicola Sturgeon told a televised leaders' debate she would say: "I'm on the other line, sorry."
The former SNP leader also stripped the Republican candidate of his role as business ambassador for Scotland after he suggested Muslims should be banned from entering the US.
Following his victory in 2016, Sturgeon wrote a congratulatory letter to Trump, and spoke to him on the phone .
Responding to this year's election results, Sturgeon posted a picture of the Statue of Liberty in tears on Instagram.
