Nicola Sturgeon has been warned that her attacks on President-elect Donald Trump could “prejudice” Scottish businesses.
Jackson Carlaw MSP said he feared Scotland could miss-out on the benefits of a possible UK-US trade deal post-Brexit because of the first minister’s criticism of the Republican tycoon.
The comments came after the Press and Journal exclusively revealed that Mr Trump hopes to build bridges with Scotland, despite what his campaign branded “reckless” comments by Scottish political leaders.
The Republican President-elect fell foul of Ms Sturgeon and other Scottish public figures after he called for a ban on Muslims entering the US and made derogatory comments about women.
Speaking at First Ministers’s Questions, Ms Sturgeon said she “wants to engage” with the White House, but cautioned that Mr Trump would have to support “important principles of tolerance and respect and diversity”.
Tory MSP Mr Carlaw said: “Mr Trump has said that he will expedite a new trading relationship between the UK leaving the European Union and the United States.
“Given her direct intervention against the new White House, to which she has just referred, and the dismissal of the President-elect appointed by her predecessor as a business ambassador for
Scotland, how will she ensure that in this new potential trade, Scottish jobs and Scottish trade are not prejudiced?”
But Ms Sturgeon suggested her criticism of Mr Trump does not “even come close” to that of Tory leader Ruth Davidson, who had branded the Republican a “clay-brained guts, a knotty-pated fool” on Twitter.
The first minister added: “The relationship between the United States and Scotland is a long standing one. It is based on ties of family, of culture and of business. I want those ties not just to continue but to be enhanced and to get even stronger.
“As first minister, I want to engage with the next American administration just as we have the last one.
“But I do believe it is important at this point in our history for all politicians to stand up and be counted on important principles of tolerance and respect and diversity. I am not going to shy away from doing that.
“I hope Donald Trump builds an administration founded on these principles and if he does that we can ensure that the close relationship gets even closer in the future.”
The Republican President-elect had earlier faced criticism from other Scottish political leaders, who have criticised his campaign.
Scottish Labour leader Ms Dugdale accused him of being a “misogynist” who brags about assaulting women – a reference to remarks Mr Trump made on a leaked tape recording.
