Donald Trump's Scottish executive condemns 'small minded' and 'spiteful' Scottish MSP criticism

One of Donald Trump’s most senior executives in Scotland has condemned “political posturing of the very worst kind” in the wake of last week’s historic US election result.

Sarah Malone, executive vice-president of the Trump International Scotland resort, said that those who “stoop so low” to the kind of broadsides aimed at her boss in recent days “could not lace his boots.”

She singled out Patrick Harvie, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, who made a series of attacks on Mr Trump while criticising First Minister John Swinney’s decision to offer his congratulations to the US president-elect.

Sarah Malone, executive vice President of Trump International Scotland. Picture: PA | PA

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Mr Harvie described the 78 year-old as a “convicted felon,” as well as a “misogynist, a climate denier, a fraudster, a conspiracy monger, a racist,” and “a far-right politician who tried to overturn an election result both covertly and by inciting violence.”

But hitting back in an article in the Scottish Mail on Sunday, Ms Malone dismissed the “tirade” by Mr Harvie, and accused him of using language “that was disgraceful, defamatory and downright insulting, not only to the future president of the United States but also to all those who rely upon and prosper as a result of the Trump investment in Scotland.”

She added: “Harvie railed against a 'misogynist' who has just appointed the first female US chief of staff, and a 'racist' who has won the support of an unprecedented number of African American and Latino voters in this election. This appalling behaviour sends a message out that Scotland's politicians are small-minded and spiteful. Is that really what we want the world to see?”

Patrick Harvie described Mr Trump as a misogynist, a climate denier, a fraudster, a conspiracy monger, and a racist. Picture: Lisa Ferguson | Scotsman

The Aberdeenshire golf course and hotel overseen by Ms Malone was one of several Trump Organisation properties to commemorate Mr Trump’s victory in the polls over the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris. A video posted by the resort, which has yet to turn a profit under Mr Trump’s ownership, showed the American flag flying from its flagpole, followed by a fireworks display and a congratulatory message.

In her article, Ms Malone, 50, pointed out that the renewed criticism of Mr Trump came at a time when the Trump Organisation and Eric Trump were pursuing ongoing investment in Scotland with the creation of a second golf course in Aberdeenshire.

“This seems a parallel universe to the, frankly, pitiful sight of parliamentarians willing to say almost anything for the sake of a cheap headline,” she wrote. “It’s patently obvious that people will have differing political views and are free to share them. However, what is galling for the hundreds of people who work for Trump in Scotland is to see constant abuse of a man and his family who have put heart and soul into creating world ranking destinations in Scotland. Enough is enough.”

As a long standing critic of Mr Trump and his politics, Mr Harvie has also been one of the most prominent voices urging the Scottish Government and Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC to look into the finances underpinning Mr Trump’s resorts in Scotland. He wrote earlier this year to Ms Bain and Mr Swinney to reiterate his calls for an Unexplained Wealth Order, stressing that the case for an investigation was “urgent and overwhelming.”