THE cringeworthy press call with May and Trump at Davos was a sight to behold.
On the one hand you had the Whitehouse windbag in full freefall of message-wandering drivel, with random sentences coming out of his mouth as they flitted through his mind. On the other hand you had Saint Theresa, whose body language suggested she would rather have been anywhere other than near Trump, but knowing she had to endure it as she so desperately needs this “tremendous” and “wonderful” trade deal he was rambling on about.
May should take note of the lack of knowledge and understanding he showed regarding said trade deals when he stated that they were “going on as we speak”. They had better not be, as I am sure Barnier and Tusk will be less than pleased if Fox is sneaking around behind their backs.
Trump’s demeanour was telling, as he seems unable to show any real heartfelt emotion – it is all very insincere. His inability to stay on one topic of conversation was so evident, even May was having trouble resisting the temptation to glance over at him to see what the hell he was on about.
He went from trade deals to defence to how wonderful our country is while Maybe sat cringing with embarrassment.
When her turn came, once his brain obviously fused, she was nearly on her knees begging for more about the “wonderful” trade deals!
Her reiteration of the visit to our shores made my blood run cold, as no matter how bad Brexit is becoming, no-one, apart from Farage and his fruitcake followers, wants this buffoon here at all under any circumstances.
Please, please Nicola Sturgeon, don’t invite him to visit Scotland, our nation does not need to be tainted by Trump, and if her Madge wants she can take him up to Balmoral and entertain the clown there, just keep him away from the rest of the population.
May should think carefully about encouraging this visit as she will be knee-deep in the cluster f*** that is Brexit, and the last thing she and indeed the rest of us need is for that narcissistic blowhard interfering!
Ade Hegney
Helensburgh
THE salacious events at the Presidents Club “Gala Dinner” have naturally drawn much media attention, with allegations of sexual harassment rightly hitting the headlines. What however struck me, and has been rather lost, is the irony of a group of affluent businessmen and others attending a fundraising event, many of whom will be using highly paid accountants to ensure that they limit their tax liabilities.
Vital tax income goes towards education and health, and the avoidance of it is estimated to cost the UK economy around £70 billion a year.
As Clement Attlee famously said: “Charity is a cold, grey, loveless thing. If a rich man wants to help the poor, he should pay his taxes”.
Alex Orr
Edinburgh
EXCELLENT coverage in The National yesterday on Robert Burns. A stark contrast to the visit I had to the town of Ayr, where there were no public celebrations of the poet’s birth.
Yes, the odd butcher shops were selling haggis, but where were the public events?
Ayr has declined over the years; tourism is a mere fraction of its heyday in the 60s and 70s. But does that allow it to almost ignore January 25? Surely an opportunity, but apparently not.
I was quite shocked at the absence of celebration or notification on Thursday in Ayr.
Inverness attracts more tourism from Burns Night than Ayr. The local officials should be ashamed at their inability to act and attract visitors.
It is an another example of how the south-west is closing down by lack of initiative and investment. I have been away from this area for more than 30 years and find it quite appalling how run-down the towns, villages and folk are.
It is such a shame that the once proud areas of Carrick and Kyle have allowed this decay. Robert Burns would be ashamed and so would Wallace and Bruce, who spent a lot of time in these environs.
Bryan Clark
Maybole
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