Exclusive:How Scottish celebrities, including Ewan McGregor, are bankrolling the Democratic fight against Donald Trump

They are the Scots across the pond putting their money where their mouth is in the run up to one of the most important elections in American history.

Several Scottish stars who now live stateside have made scores of donations over the past year to political groups ahead of next week’s crunch election, according to an analysis by The Scotsman of thousands of individual US political contributions. 

However, the bad news for Donald Trump, one of several former US presidents with strong Scottish heritage, is that none of the well-known ex-pats from his mother’s homeland are backing him or his party.

Ewan McGregor has donated to the Kamala Harris campaign. Picture: Getty | Getty

Those Scots who have made donations since the turn of the year as the campaign has intensified include internationally renowned actors Ewan McGregor and Brian Cox, as well as the musician, visual artist, and writer David Byrne. They join a long list of Scots who have played an active role in US politics dating back decades, including the likes of Irvine Welsh and Sheena Easton. 

While US election finance law prohibits foreign nationals living in the country from making political donations, all the Scots in question are able to contribute thanks to the fact they either hold US citizenship, dual nationality or Green Cards. The latter status confers permanent US residency rights, and allows individuals to make political donations, despite the fact they cannot cast a vote.

Hollywood star McGregor, who moved to Los Angeles in 2008 before becoming a US citizen in 2016, has made the single biggest donation of any of his compatriots to date, according to the database of US Federal Election Commission contributions. He has given a one-off $1,000 [£772] donation to the official campaign of Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president.

Actor Brian Cox has made a series of donations to Democratic causes. Picture: Frazer Harrison/Getty | Getty Images

The actor, best known for his roles as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and as Mark Renton in Trainspotting, has largely avoided discussing US politics. But in 2017, he made headlines after refusing to appear on ITV’s Good Morning Britain because he did not agree with Piers Morgan’s disparaging comments about the Women’s March against Mr Trump.

Another actor, Brian Cox, has been the most prolific donor of any of the US-based Scots, making more than 60 individual contributions over the course of 2024 to groups battling to ensure Ms Harris wins the race for the White House. They include multiple donations to the same Harris for President campaign targeted by McGregor, but the 78 year-old’s pledges span a range of Democratic candidates, such as the serving Georgia senator, Raphael Warnock, and Adam Schiff, a high-profile California Democrat and Senate candidate. He also gave money to the campaign of Harry Dunn, the former US Capitol police officer, who lost his congressional primary election in Maryland in May. 

Cox, who has enjoyed widespread acclaim in recent years for his portrayal of media magnate, Logan Roy, in the hit television series, Succession, has been a vocal critic of Mr Trump. He has previously described him as an “idiot”, a nutcase and “the pink Pinocchio”, hitting out by saying: “The guy actually needs to be certified in some way, he’s living in a kind of cloud cuckoo land.”

Musician David Byrne has bankrolled the campaign to reelect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Picture: Getty | Getty Images

The Dundee-born actor also gave money to less well known Democratic groups and political action committees, such as Moms Fed Up, End Citizens United, and Blue Wave America. In total, the actor has provided 62 donations totalling $790 [£610], adding to the amount he has funnelled towards the Democrats in recent years. During the run up to the 2022 midterm elections, he made nearly 50 donations totalling $880 [£680].

Elsewhere, Dumbarton-born Byrne, a co-founder of the acclaimed band Talking Heads, has made more than 20 donations since the turn of the year, the FEC data shows. The majority of the star’s contributions were directed to the campaign of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive Congress member for New York, where Byrne now lives.

In recent years, other Scots musicians and actors living in the US have also been active donors to Democratic campaigns and candidates. Two years ago, actor Alan Cumming donated $1,000 to the campaign of Democrat candidate Suraj Patel, while Kevin McKidd, the actor and television director best known for his roles in Trainspotting and Grey’s Anatomy, made 14 separate donations to ActBlue, an online fundraising facility that allows donors to direct their money to various Democratic causes.

The amounts given by the Scots are but a drop in the ocean compared to the vast sums being pumped into the Democratic and Republican election machines ahead of the polls opening. According to the Washington Post, the 50 biggest donors of this US election cycle have collectively contributed over $1.6 billion [£1.2bn] to political committees and other groups. 

Unsurprisingly, the biggest donors in the US are backing Mr Trump and the Republicans. Timothy Mellon, the billionaire heir to a baking fortune, has given around $165 million [£127m] to GOP friendly causes. Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, is the Democrat supporter with the deepest pockets, having donated more than $42m [£32m] to date. 

Some notable US stars are also donating to various political causes. The FEC database shows Seth Macfarlane, the creator of the hit animated comedy series Family Guy, has given well over $1m [£770,000] to Democratic campaigns, while the veteran film director, Steven Spielberg, has donated more than half a million dollars to Democratic causes, including $250,000 [£193,004] to a super PAC tasked with delivering a blue majority in the Senate.