As Trump signals it's 'no more Mr Nice Guy', Swinney and Starmer must try to influence him
As Donald Trump prepares for his inauguration as US President tomorrow, politicians at Holyrood and Westminster have no choice but to face up to the fact that the world is about to become a very different place.
In 2017, Trump’s official portrait was all smiles; his new one is decidedly no smiles with a slightly odd, one-eyed frown. The message appears to be that, this time, it’s ‘no more Mr Nice Guy’.
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Hide AdThis latest image has been compared to a very different ‘official photograph’ – his mugshot taken at Fulton County Jail in 2023 after he was charged with attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia. Trump, who denied wrongdoing, was recorded telling Georgia’s Republican secretary of state Brad Raffensperger: “So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes [the number needed to win].” Honourably, Raffensperger chose not to help.
Nonetheless, in November, US voters really did decide Trump should be president and other countries’ leaders must deal with that. And there are a number of pressing concerns, both economic and geopolitical, on which they should try to influence him.


Defend Ukraine
Most importantly, Keir Starmer and other Nato leaders have to persuade him of the need for the US to continue to support Ukraine as it defends itself against the Russian invasion. Trump has made alarming comments on the conflict, but there have been some encouraging noises from his camp in recent weeks which suggest he may not abandon Kyiv.
They should also urge him to dial down the rhetoric about the US taking over Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Canada. However fanciful his remarks are, they have been unsettling some long-standing alliances.
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Hide AdOn Trump’s plans for sweeping tariffs on foreign goods, Starmer and John Swinney have strong reasons to work together to persuade him not to hit important exports like whisky or, at least, not to hit them too hard.
Overall, the task for politicians across the world over the next four years must be to ensure that the US stays within the international family of liberal democracies. On this, so much will depend.
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