On 20 March, the City of Edinburgh Council rejected a motion opposing any visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to the city.
Green councillor Alex Staniforth, who proposed one of the original two motions, cited Trump’s pardoning of January 6 coup participation, removed protections for trans people, cuts to USAID without legislative approval, and threats to Canadian and Greenlandic sovereignty – suggesting that the U.S. is an “emerging fascist state.”
Staniforth told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Edinburgh should not tolerate fascists and should have no part in welcoming a fascist leader into Scotland.”
His motion asked Edinburgh Council officers and members to refuse to participate in a visit by Trump or Vice President JD Vance and withhold city resources from supporting it.
SNP councillor Lesley Macinnes proposed a separate motion citing the “shock and great concern” over Trump and Vance’s recent Oval Office conversation with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Her motion called on the council leader and Lord Provost to communicate with wider UK and Scottish ministers that Edinburgh wouldn’t participate in any Trump state visit.
However, at the council meeting on Thursday, neither motion passed; instead, a composite amendment combining Liberal Democrat and the Administration was carried.
The composite amendment, moved by the Liberal Democrat’s Kevin Lang and the Administration’s Joan Griffiths, acknowledges that King Charles and the UK Government decide state visits and that council staff have professional duties regardless of personal views.
As such, the motion “requests officers to engage with the Scottish Government and the Royal Household” regarding plans for a Trump visit to Edinburgh to keep councillors informed of any visit plans.
While Trump has no direct connection to Edinburgh, he does have a Scottish connection through his mother, who was born on the Isle of Lewis.
Trump also maintains various business interests in Scotland, including golf resorts in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire – both of which he plans to visit this summer.
“Edinburgh” by barnyz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.