Trump’s mother Mary Anne MacLeod was raised on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland (Image: Cathy Brett/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump visited Scotland last month to reconnect with the nation he frequently cites as his ancestral homeland.
The presidential trip, spanning from Friday, July 25 through Tuesday, July 29, showcased Trump’s deep ties to the country that holds special significance in his family history. He visited both of his Scottish golf properties – Trump Turnberry located in South Ayrshire and the Trump International Golf Links situated in Aberdeenshire.
He also met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney. The encounter with the PM has been arranged to occur in Aberdeen, a city Trump has dubbed “the oil capital of Europe”.
Trump has frequently highlighted his deep personal ties to Scotland through his late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born and spent her early years on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, reports the Daily Record.
The small village of Tong is a short way north of Stornoway, is the biggest settlement in Lewis (Image: Alastair Lamont, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)
VisitScotland describes the region as follows: “With dramatic landscapes, a unique Gaelic culture and fascinating history, Lewis and Harris are a great place to start your Hebridean adventure. You will be blown away by wild mountains, immense white beaches, rugged coastlines and lunar landscapes.”
Mary Anne entered the world in 1912 in the small village of Tong, situated roughly three miles from Stornoway, before departing the island at age 18 to seek employment as a domestic worker in New York. Like countless Scots in the early 1900s, Mary Anne sought her fortune across the Atlantic, leaving her homeland for the promise of America’s opportunities.
She wed Frederick Trump, a prosperous real estate magnate and child of German settlers, in 1936.
President Trump visited both his golf resorts during his visit to Scotland this month (Image: Robert Perry/Getty Images)
The couple welcomed five children into the world, with future President Trump – locally known as Donald John – being their fourth offspring. Mary Anne secured her American citizenship in 1942 and passed away in 2000 at the age of 88.
Though the president frequently boasts of his Scottish heritage, the folks from his mother’s birthplace haven’t exactly rolled out the red carpet for him.
Her clan’s roots run deep in the surrounding region, with the MacLeods from her paternal line tracing back to Vatisker, situated just north of Tong. The village of Tong itself boasts a rich tapestry of political and cultural heritage.
From 1919 to 1921, this community, alongside neighboring Coll and Gress, became the epicenter of bold land seizures, where determined locals confronted absent property owners by sowing crops and carving up grazing territories into agricultural plots.
Tong’s inhabitants earned a reputation as among the island’s most radical voices. Even in a 1990s compilation of Stornoway dialect, Tong residents were still dubbed “Bolshiveeks.”
Community members in Tong have previously expressed disappointment over Trump’s absence of charitable contributions to their area, drawing unfavorable comparisons to his sister and mother’s generosity.
“He never gave a penny,” residents have remarked before, highlighting how Mary Anne MacLeod Trump contributed financially to building the village hall during the 1970s. His elder sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, also made a substantial contribution to a local nursing home and the Bethesda hospice.
Locals have voiced their belief that the president is capitalizing on his mother’s and sister’s legacies without reciprocating to the island that played a pivotal role in their formative years.
Tong continues to be a quintessential crofting village, nestled about four miles northeast of Stornoway. The traditional practices of crofting, weaving Harris Tweed, and peat cutting remain integral to the island’s daily life.
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Trump’s mother Mary Anne MacLeod was 18 when she left Scotland (Image: Christopher Furlong, Getty Images)
The locale is also famed for hosting the annual Lewis Highland Games and the Western Isles Strongman competition.
Historically, Lewis was under Norwegian rule until the 13th century, and by the 1800s, Tong’s economy was heavily dependent on fishing, farming, and weaving.
However, extensive land clearances in the late 19th century led to many tenants being uprooted to make way for large-scale sheep farms and deer forests.
