DONALD Trump almost always chooses carefully where he wants to visit. How curious then that he decided to break with tradition and attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) Summit in Davos this wek.
US presidents don’t normally roll up at Davos and Mr Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, did not set foot there during his time in office. The more cynical among us might say that this was reason enough for Mr Trump’s Davos appearance, as well as the opportunity perhaps to try to patch up Washington’s rather beleaguered “special relationship”.
To that end the two nations appear to be on a better footing after events in Davos, with Theresa May inviting Mr Trump to make a visit to Britain later this year. That Mr Trump will likely include Scotland in his itinerary seems a near certainty, not least given his business concerns here and his admission during an interview in Davos that he “misses Scotland”.
Mr Trump in more conciliatory mood, as has been evident over the last few days, is almost more discomfiting than the confrontational, boorish president the world has become accustomed to. It tends to raise suspicions of an ulterior motive or attempt to deflect any prevailing political heat.
Promises to Mrs May that the US will always “be there” for Britain, and assurances that “we love your country” will doubtless do little to assuage the acrimony so many in the UK feel towards the Trump presidency or dissuade them from making that frustration visible through protests when he visits later this year. Should he include Scotland in his visit he will doubtless find that while he might “miss Scotland”, Scots will not miss the opportunity to express their disdain for his presidency and the often odious behaviour that has characterised it. The right to express such objections is one that people in any democracy are entitled to and should not be downplayed by those in political power in the UK. That those protests could be huge in size would be no surprise given recent similar marches across the globe on the first anniversary of his inauguration.
Undoubtedly they will be vociferous, but should they prove violent this would be a grave mistake that would only undermine the very arguments Mr Trump’s opponents seek to make. Like it or not, he is the democratically elected President of the United States and acknowledgement of that office should be accorded, even if his policies are noisome to many.
Even as US President, Donald Trump is not representative of everything America stands for. Talk of a “special relationship” between the US and the UK might seem like wishful thinking right now, but there is no escaping the fact that both countries continue to have strong mutual interests and concerns: for example, shared intelligence in the fight against terrorism and long established trade and investment links are a point in case, including here in Scotland.
Cack-handed Mr Trump has certainly been to date in his dealings with the UK, but even he must be under no illusions of the importance in maintaining close links with Britain. That much was evident in the more conciliatory tone of the meeting between him and Mrs May in Davos.
Through its diplomatic representation in Edinburgh the US consular section has shown itself finely tuned to Scotland’s political, economic and cultural landscape and has worked actively to establish new and consolidate excellent existing relations with Scottish society. Should Mr Trump include Scotland in his forthcoming UK visit that relationship could be put to the test through no fault of US diplomatic representation. Vociferous democratic opposition to Mr Trump is one thing, but it’s in everyone’s interests that wider diplomatic relations continue to be valued and respected.
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