A social media row has broken out over support for American presidential hopeful Donald Trump on the island in the Outer Hebrides – where his mother comes from.
Mr Trump’s cousins live at Tong near Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis – and at least one, Calum Murray, has shown support for the billionaire by “liking” his campaign on his Facebook.
But islanders reacted to a Facebook paged entitled “Isle of Lewis supports Trump for president” which appeared over the weekend, with anger.
The page which has just 43 “likes” so far is the latest battlefield for the international brigades of voteless pro and anti Trump campaigners.
The page states in it’s bio, “We would like to see Donald Trump become president of the USA because he says what he thinks, shoots from the hip, doesn’t mince his words and his mother came from Lewis. He also understands how to run a business.
“People from Lewis are known for our honest straight talking.
“Donald Trump is a straight talker who lets them have it right between the eyes. A common trait on the Isle of Lewis where his mother came from.”
However many social media users responded that the page did not represent islanders’ views, and on Sunday a protest page “The Isle of Lewis DOES NOT support Donald Trump” was set up.
It has 495 “likes” so far and says it is “an alternative page for “straight talking” Leodhasachs……(people from Lewis.)
Mr Trump’s mother Mary Anne – who was born in 1912 in Tong – emigrated to America and met and married property magnate Frederick Trump.
Eight years ago Donald made an emotional visit to his late mother’s humble old home and met his cousins.
But Mr Trump – who declared himself as feeling “Scottish” – spent just a couple of minutes at his mother’s old croft house four miles from Stornoway, after flying in on his own personal Tristar jet 30 minutes earlier.
However afterwards, Mr Trump said he was only doing his £1bn golf course scheme in Aberdeenshire in memory of his beloved mother.
The outspoken billionaire revealed on that trip that he had been to Lewis once before as “a three or four year old” but, not surprisingly, could remember little about it.
His mother died in August 2000 at the age of 88, but had returned to Lewis regularly before her death.
Mary Anne was a native Gaelic speaker and Mr Trump said if it was not for his father his mother would have returned to Lewis.
“She would have come back, but she met a great guy in my father,” he said.
“She had a great romance and a great marriage. She never lost her feeling for Scotland. She loved Lewis. She never forgot her roots.
“I had a great mother who was a beautiful woman and great woman in many ways. She was a great inspiration.”
On the trip to Lewis, Mr Trump was accompanied by his eldest sister Maryanne Trump Barry, a US Federal judge, who has regularly visited her cousins on Lewis.
Last year she donated nearly £160,000 to a care home in Stornoway – in memory of her mother.
Together with a one-off funding allocation from the Scottish Government, the donation will result in nine new care home beds at Bethesda Care Home.