Donald Trump says he's heard ‘great things' about John Swinney
Mr Trump spoke to journalists at his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire on Monday, alongside Sir Keir Starmer.
Later on Monday he is expected to meet First Minister and SNP leader Mr Swinney, with the pair holding more formal talks on Tuesday as Mr Trump prepares to open a new golf course in Aberdeenshire.
Mr Swinney had earlier been emphasising his party's desire for a second vote on Scotland's place in the UK, saying an SNP majority at next year's elections should trigger another referendum.
At the press conference, Mr Trump said he had correctly predicted the result of the referendum in 2014, where 55% voted No to independence – but said 'I don't want to get involved in politics, we got enough politics of our own'.
The US President also referred to the suggestion that such a referendum could only take place once in a generation.
He told journalists: 'When they made that deal, somebody that it was…
'I remember this very distinctly, I said 'do they do this all the time?'
'There was a little bit of a restriction, like 50 or 75 years, before you could take another vote because, you know, a country can't go through that too much.'
Mr Trump said he did not know Scottish First Minister John Swinney, but added: 'I heard great things about him, and I'm meeting him today, so maybe I'll have a better opinion.'
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer insisted Scotland was better-off within the UK.
The Prime Minister said: 'I think that at a time like this when it's quite clear that there's uncertainty and volatility around the world, the strength of the United Kingdom together is very important for all four nations, very important for Scotland, and that should be our priority.'
Mr Swinney 'should probably focus more' on delivery in Scotland than constitutional issues, Sir Keir added.
Earlier, Mr Swinney said the precedent set by the SNP's 2011 election victory would break the 'logjam' towards a second independence referendum.
The First Minister said there should be a 'legal referendum recognised by all' on Scottish independence if the SNP secures a majority at the Holyrood elections.
Previously, he has said a 'democratic majority' of pro-independence MSPs after next year's Scottish Parliament elections should pave the way to a new vote on the constitutional question.
He spoke to journalists further at the Kelpies statues near Falkirk, saying: 'The necessity of independence is absolutely paramount and we've got to make that case in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.
'But there's a logjam and we've got to break that logjam.
'We demonstrated how we break the logjam in the past, by electing a majority of SNP MSPs in 2011, and that led to an independence referendum in 2014.'
Since the Brexit vote in 2016, repeated prime ministers have rebuffed the SNP's calls for another Scottish independence referendum.
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: 'John Swinney is like a broken record. In a bid to silence internal critics of his weak leadership, he has thrown diehard nationalists some more red meat on the one issue they all agree on: independence.
'Ordinary Scots are sick and tired of the SNP's obsession with breaking up the UK.
'The public want John Swinney to focus on fixing the damage his Government has done in decimating essential services such as schools and the NHS at the same time as making Scotland the highest-taxed part of the UK.'
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: 'This SNP Government has lost its way and ran out of ideas – while one in six Scots suffer on an NHS waiting list.
'Despite that, John Swinney can't end his own obsession with division and today has confirmed he'll put Scots second to appease his own party.
'From the crisis in our NHS to the violence in our schools, the SNP has left every institution in Scotland weaker.
'This is not as good as it gets and in 2026 Scotland will have a chance to put a stop to SNP decline and vote for a fresh start.'
Alex Cole-Hamilton, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said: 'At last year's election the SNP took an almighty beating because people were tired of them obsessing over one issue. It seems like John Swinney is a glutton for punishment.
'Perhaps rather than focusing on what the SNP membership cares about, he should focus on what the country needs.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
32 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Fed governor Kugler to resign, offering Trump early vacancy to fill
Kugler's resignation gives Trump an opportunity to at least partially shape the Fed's makeup to his liking ahead of her original departure date. Kugler, a Biden-appointed governor, joined the seven-member board in 2023 and was set to serve through January 2026. Kugler didn't offer a reason for her Aug. 8 departure. A statement from the Fed said she would return to Georgetown University as a professor this fall. In a letter to President Donald Trump, Kugler said it has been the "honor of a lifetime" to serve on the Fed's board of governors. "I am especially honored to have served during a critical time in achieving our dual mandate of bringing down prices and keeping a strong and resilient labor market," Kugler said. "The Federal Reserve does important work to help foster a healthy economy and it has been a privilege to work towards that goal on behalf of all Americans for nearly two years." In a July 30 note, Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, noted that Trump may use Kugler's opening to appoint his pick for Fed Chair Jerome Powell's replacement. Powell, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, will have his term as Fed chair end in May 2026. The president, who has recently backed away from threats to fire Powell, has made clear that he's unhappy with the Fed's decision to hold off on rate cuts. In June, Trump said he's hunting for a new Fed chair and has narrowed his search to "three or four people." Adams said Trump's next pick for chair could be a current Federal Open Market Committee member or an external hire. "Perhaps the next Chair will have a different approach to monetary policy than Powell, but it's hard to say--recall that Powell himself is a Trump appointee," Adams wrote on July 30, before Kugler announced her resignation. "In any case, the Fed seems likely to cut interest rates between now and when Powell's term ends, which would make the transition feel less fraught."
The Herald Scotland
32 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
July jobs report takeaways: Weakening labor market, recession fears
By late afternoon Aug. 1, Trump announced he ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, the U.S. commissioner of Labor Statistics. The president in a social media post accused McEntarfer of manipulating figures for "political purposes," though he did not provide any evidence. In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 607 points and the benchmark S&P 500 index was off 1.5% Over the past three months, the economy has averaged just 35,000 employment gains. Here are a few takeaways: This was no blip The poor showing likely wasn't an outlier that will be followed by a resumption of healthy job gains in the months ahead, economists said. Consumers have reined in their spending somewhat, amid worries about Trump's tariffs pushing up prices, and are pulling back on travel and recreational activities. As more of the import charges hit store shelves, Americans will likely restrain their outlays further, Pantheon Macroeconomics wrote in a note to clients. That should translate into weaker job gains, especially in sectors such as manufacturing, retail, trucking and warehousing, the research firm said. And on July 31, Trump escalated his global trade fight with a sweeping new round of import levies. Meanwhile, executives' confidence in the business outlook has been shaken in recent months by the tariffs - which are squeezing profit margins - and that's expected to spell a more pronounced decline in business investment, Pantheon said. "Sadly, employment appears set for a further summer slowdown as firms, facing renewed cost volatility from escalating trade tensions, remain focused on managing labor costs through reduced hiring, performance-based layoffs, restrained wage growth, and lower entry-level wages," Gregory Daco, chief economist of EY-Parthenon, wrote to clients. Also, after the Supreme Court recently lifted a stay on mass federal layoffs, "the decline in federal employment likely will gather more momentum over the coming months," Pantheon said. The Labor Department has tracked 84,000 federal job losses this year, but the number of buyouts and job cuts announced was much larger. Hiring across the economy hit a 12-month low in June, Labor Department figures show. Will there be a recession in 2025? The dreaded word has slipped back into the conversation after fading the past couple of months as Trump delayed many tariffs and reached deals with several countries. "To me, today's jobs report is what entering a recession looks like," Josh Bivens, chief economist of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, said in a statement. "Could we pull up? Sure. But if we look back and end up dating an official recession that starts 3-6 months from now, this is what it would look like today - rapid softening/deterioration in the labor market." A recession now appears "very, very likely" unless Trump lowers the tariffs by Labor Day, said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. Could a skidding economy and stock market lead Trump to reverse course? A darkening economic outlook and tumbling stock market could well prompt Trump to try to soften the import fees, Zandi said. "He's going to try to pull it back," he said. But if he doesn't act before Labor Day, "It will be too late," Zandi said, adding the duties will start to ripple too dramatically into retail prices and consumer and business sentiment for the effects to be undone. A September fed rate cut likely At a July 30 news conference following the Fed's decision to hold rates steady for a fifth straight meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the labor market as solid and balanced. He also said officials would focus primarily on the unemployment rate as they decide whether to lower rates in September. The jobless rate edged up to 4.2% in July. It's still historically low even as Trump's immigration constraints, particularly deportations, shrank the labor force - the pool of people working or looking for jobs. Still, employer demand for employees has waned. But Morgan Stanley suggested the feeble job gains of the past three months would spur the Fed to act in September despite stable unemployment. "The slower payroll pace keeps downside risks elevated and a September cut on the table," Morgan Stanley said in a research note. Fed fund futures markets are now putting the chances of a September rate decrease at 85%, up from 45% after Powell's July 30 remarks. AI is starting to crimp job gains Professional and business services shed 14,000 jobs in July and payroll gains in the sprawling white-collar sector have been stagnant for more than two years. July's showing included job losses in computer and technical roles. Staffing executives say companies are replacing many entry-level information technology workers with artificial intelligence. "It is happening," Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius said on CNBC after the release of the July jobs report. "This is not the main thing driving the labor market... But we're seeing early signs." (This story was updated to add new information)
The Herald Scotland
32 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Voters hate Medicaid cuts. Now Republicans are backpedaling
But many of those same Republicans in Congress are now openly fretting about President Donald Trump's signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he signed into law on July 4. Some worry that it slashes Medicaid funding for the working poor. Some think it doesn't cut enough federal funding. And it adds $4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. Call this "Vote yes and second-guess." That's not exactly the vibe Trump was looking for from his political party for what he had hoped would be a summer victory tour to celebrate this and other early accomplishments in his second term. But here, Trump - and his party in next year's midterm elections - have a serious problem. Americans don't like his massive budget bill, which swaps short-term tax relief for some low-income working people for permanent tax cuts for America's wealthiest people. That's only going to get worse as Americans see what programs Trump and his Republican allies have defunded and where they are boosting federal spending. Trump is dumping money into immigration policies Americans don't like Consider immigration, a signature issue for Trump, which previously won him significant support among American voters in 2016 and 2024. He's seen a reversal of fortunes here. That's probably because so many of us are watching masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents indiscriminately grabbing people off the street to be deported with little or no due process under the law. What Trump touted as an effort to deport violent criminals who entered this country illegally has devolved into an oppressive spectacle as ICE agents snatch people who hold green cards or appear at immigration hearings. Opinion newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter on people, power and policies in the time of Trump from columnist Chris Brennan. Get it delivered to your inbox. Trump's new budget bill includes $170 billion for more of that over the next four years, with $76.5 billion going to ICE to detain people snatched off our streets and to add 10,000 new agents to a force that already has 20,000. How is that going to play across America? Gallup offered us a clue with a mid-July survey that showed a sizable shift in how Americans view immigration. Opinion: Trump's policies on immigration, economy and trade are unpopular with Americans In 2024, 55% of Americans told Gallup they thought immigration should be decreased. That dropped to 30% this year, after they saw Trump's approach on the issue. And a record high - 79% - of U.S. adults told Gallup that immigration is good for this country. That same survey found that 62% of Americans disapprove of Trump's immigration policies. And he's about to drive this country deep into debt to ramp up an approach Americans don't like. Now Republicans want you to believe they're saving Medicaid Then there is the Republican regret. You get the feeling Republicans in Congress want to increase funding either for a time machine to undo their vote or a device to make voters forget how those senators and representatives supported Trump's big, beautiful bill. This game of both sides is as desperate as it is hypocritical. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri wrote an essay for The New York Times in May expressing concerns about how the bill will slash Medicaid for the working poor. Then he voted for Trump's budget. Now he says he's trying to undo some of the harm he supported with new legislation. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska expressed concerns before folding to support Trump's budget. Murkowski's shameless bid to spread the blame, by urging Republicans in the U.S. House not to endorse the bill she had just endorsed, of course, fell on its face. U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado touted her vote for Trump's budget in May. By late July, she was denouncing the government for not reducing the national debt. Opinion: MAGA is coming for Trump over lost Epstein files. Bondi may pay the price. U.S. Rep. Ted Cruz of Texas is among the legislators now calling to roll back the provision in Trump's budget that changes tax deductions for gamblers. Cruz's explanation for backtracking, according to NBC News: "Most Republicans didn't even know this was in the bill when they voted to pass it." Republicans are still spending our tax dollars recklessly Trump has assumed control of the Republican Party in Congress, where legislative leaders are careful to never act as an independent and coequal branch of government. They sing a song about making America great by cracking down on federal spending, while piling up the nation's debt. They're not spending less of your tax dollars. They're just making sure the super rich in America don't have to pay at the same rates as middle-class people. They're spending much, much more, just as Americans discover they like Trump's policies less and less every day. There's a cure for all this. It's called the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans in Congress are afraid of Trump. They really should be afraid of voters tossing them out of office for backing his budget. Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.
