JOHN Swinney told Donald Trump to "go big" on a renovation of the White House when he visited the US president in the Oval Office, it has been reported.
According to The Spectator, the First Minister was shown three different models of Trump's planned overhaul of the East Wing, which he has demolished to build a new ballroom.
Swinney then apparently said: "‘If you’re going to do it, you might as well go big."
The First Minister met Trump in the Oval Office in September in a bid to turn the president's head on lowering whisky tariffs.
Swinney has met in person with the president on four occasions in recent months – twice during Trump’s visit to Scotland, a third time during his own impromptu visit to Washington, and another during the president’s state visit to the UK in September.
In the days before the president’s re-election, Swinney had endorsed his opponent Kamala Harris, telling journalists in the Scottish Parliament: “I have not come to that conclusion only because Donald Trump is opposed to Scottish independence”.
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In a speech to the SNP conference in 2019 when he was deputy first minister under Nicola Sturgeon, Swinney accused Trump – along with former prime minister Boris Johnson – of choosing “the gutter”, adding: “Their road leads to ruin.”
But speaking ahead of the SNP conference in Aberdeen in October, the First Minister said: “We’re very different types of people. The world is made up of different types of people and we have to try and get on."
Following his meeting with Trump in Washington, Swinney said he felt there was a "real chance" of a better deal on whisky, but there has been no movement on the matter since.
Last Saturday, Swinney met with the US ambassador after Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander attacked the First Minister's involvement in trade talks with the Trump administration.
Swinney welcomed Warren A Stephens to Bute House and again reportedly used the chance to set out the case for a better trade deal for the Scotch whisky industry.
As it stands, whisky exports to the US face a 10% tariff rate, which the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) says is costing the sector almost £20 million per month in lost trade.
The First Minister’s involvement in whisky talks drew anger from Labour’s Alexander, who last Friday said it was “offensive” to suggest that Swinney had played a central role in putting whisky on the agenda. He said the SNP leader should be “spending more time” on devolved issues instead.
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