John Swinney urged to show solidarity with Americans at 'sharp end' of Trump (2025)

EXCLUSIVE: Patrick Harvie branded the Trump Administration an "increasingly fascist regime".

John Swinney has been urged to show "solidarity" with Americans at the "sharp end" of the Donald Trump Administration.

Patrick Harvie, a long-term critic of the US President, said the relationship between Scotland and the US could not just be based on business ties and what was good for the economy.

The Scottish Greens co-leader said federal employees like climate scientists currently faced a "purge" as a result of the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) implemented by Elon Musk.

More than 280,000 US civil servants have been sacked from across 27 government agencies in recent months.

Harvie, who will stand down from his party leadership role this summer, said the SNP Government could be doing more to show support for those impacted by Trump's reforms.

He spoke to the Record after Swinney returned from an official visit to Tartan Week in New York City, where the First Minister promoted Scottish businesses involved in exporting to the US.

The Green MSP said: "I would like to hear a lot more emphasis on what the Scottish Government can do to build a relationship with those who are at the sharp end of this.

"We're often told our relationship with the US is very important, and we can't abandon it just because of who the President is, and I understand that. But if our relationship with America is important, it's with the people.

"John Swinney has been in the US for Tartan Week, promoting Scottish exports, even though they face tariffs.

"I want to know if the First Minister met with any migrants' rights organisations when he was there, whether he met with any of the cultural organisations - the libraries, the museums, the colleges - who face a full on cultural purge right now.

"I want to know if he met, and expressed the Scottish Government's support for, the people who are in the firing line of an increasingly fascist regime in the US.

"The economic relationship matters - but it needs to be rooted in solidarity with people who are at the sharp end of a very brutal and dangerous regime."

The US President is widely expected to visit Scotland this summer as part of a wider state visit to the UK.

Asked if he thought Swinney should welcome the President during his visit, Harvie added: "I think the most important response Scotland can have is protest, and I would like to think there are plenty of people in the SNP who will want their party to be represented in opposition to Trump.

"I understand the reasons entirely why a First Minister might feel it not appropriate in that office to be doing that."

Harvie's fierce criticism of Trump previously led to him being called a "national embarrassment" by representatives for the businessman.

Sarah Malone, executive vice-president of Trump International Golf Links, said in January: "Patrick Harvie’s puerile behaviour and mindless ranting is an embarrassment to Scotland and does a great disservice to our country."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Scotland enjoys deep and enduring links with the US and Tartan Week is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate Scottish culture and to promote opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.

"The First Minister’s trip focused on promoting Scotland as a world-class place to do business, strengthening our long-standing ties with the US and championing Scottish culture and influence on the world stage.

"While in New York, the First Minister met with some of Scotland’s biggest current and potential investors, alongside a series of engagements including leading Scotland’s presence at the Tartan Day Parade and meeting our dynamic diaspora."

To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here