Donald Trump: A second Scottish independence referendum would be terrible
2 min read
Donald Trump has said a second Scottish independence referendum would be “terrible” and compared the initial vote on separation to going “through hell”.
The US president questioned what would happen to the British Open golf tournament if Scotland became a separate country.
Mr Trump also said he plans to be “very involved” in Britain because “you don’t hear the word ‘Britain’ anymore”.
He recently said his administration is working on a “very big and exciting” post-Brexit trade deal with the UK.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr Trump was asked if he could say anything more about the trade deal.
He responded: “No, but I can say that we’re going to be very involved with the UK.
“I mean, you don’t hear the word ‘Britain’ anymore. It’s very interesting. It’s like, nope.”
The president also said he has a “very good relationship” with Theresa May and that the US is “absolutely looking to do a major trade deal”.
He said the trade deal will “kick in… as soon as it’s appropriate”, and indicated he would prioritise access to the UK market for the US agriculture sector.
“And it’ll be a big trade deal – much, much more business than we do right now, many, many times.
“I mean, one of the things that – I have a very good relationship with the EU people and all, but they are very, very protectionist.
“You know, our farmers and others can’t even deal with – you know, you can’t sell in. It’s very unfair. And that’s what I’ve been talking about for a long time.
“It’s so stacked against the United States. Now, the EU was conceived to the point that they wanted to do something to compete with the United States.
“Well, you know, you could say that’s a friendly act or an unfriendly act. But it’s very protectionist. Among the most, we have farm products that you just can’t get into the EU. And we don’t do that to them.”
He added: “Is Scotland going to go for the vote, by the way? You don’t see it. It would be terrible. They just went through hell.
“One little thing, what would they do with the British Open if they ever got out? They’d no longer have the British Open.
“Scotland. Keep it in Scotland.”
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