Donald Trump congratulates John Swinney on re-election in Scotland and praises him for winning whisky tariff relief - after First Minister was mocked for taking the credit

By OLIVIA CHRISTIE, NEWS REPORTER Published: 11:15, 9 May 2026 | Updated: 11:24, 9 May 2026 Donald Trump has congratulated John Swinney on his re-election in Scotland and praised him for winning whisky tariff relief - after the First Minister was ruthlessly mocked for taking the credit.  The SNP will remain Scotland’s largest party after winning 58 seats on Friday, a drop from the 64 MSPs elected for the party in 2021. Mr Swinney had set his goal at winning an overall majority at Holyrood, saying that would provide a renewed mandate for a push for Scottish independence. In a post on Truth Social, the US President described Mr Swinney as a 'good man' who deserved this 'big election victory'.  Trump added that the First Minister had worked very hard, along with King Charles and Queen Camilla, to secure the removal of tariffs on 'great Scottish whisky' during the royal couple's visit to the US earlier this month. Previously, Trump had given credit for the move to Charles and Camilla, who he said had 'got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking'. However, the SNP subsequently claimed the removal of whisky tariffs was evidence of the First Minister 'delivering' for Scotland, saying: 'John Swinney fought for Scotch whisky. And he delivered.' First Minister John Swinney and Lord Mandelson meet with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of The White House as they try to negotiate on US whisky tariffs  First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney with his wife Elizabeth at the election count this week  Both Mr Swinney and the SNP were mocked on social media for the claim both by fellow politicians and in a number of AI memes.  Ruth Davidson, the former leader of the Scottish Tories, quipped: 'That he did all this while masterminding the D-Day landings and being the first to identify all of Saturn's rings, is what makes these achievements truly remarkable...'  Murdo Fraser, a former Scottish Tory deputy leader, also joined in with the ridicule. He posted: 'BREAKING: John Swinney claims credit for the discovery of penicillin, the moon landings, and Scotland qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.'  Mr Swinney did travel to Washington DC last year to press the case for removing the tariffs in White House talks with Trump.  And it later emerged that Mr Trump had told Mr Swinney his intervention formed a 'very big part' of his decision to scrap the tariffs. In a note sent to the First Minister, ahead of the decision being announced on Thursday, the US President said: 'Congratulations John – you were a very big part of my thinking on the matter of Scotland/Kentucky!' The pair spoke for nine minutes following the announcement of the removal of tariffs on whisky, according to the SNP. The First Minister was ridiculed after an SNP post on X that hailed Mr Swinney's involvement in the lifting of tariffs was subject to a 'community note' on the social media site In a statement released after the call, Mr Swinney said: 'I was pleased to receive a call from the President of the United States this afternoon, which gave me the opportunity to thank him personally for ending the tariffs on Scotch whisky. 'The president was clear that our discussions on the mutual benefit of this deal, and Scotland's ability to work with the state of Kentucky, formed a very big part of his thinking. 'He said that he was pleased to be able to do this for Scotland, together with His Majesty the King.' Industry bosses have estimated that tariffs of 10 per cent in the US had been costing the whisky sector in Scotland about £4million a week in lost export. This amounted to '£150 million in total over the last 12 months since the tariff has been in place', said Graeme Littlejohn, of the Scotch Whisky Association. Mr Swinney was re-elected as First Minister in the Holyrood elections on Thursday, and while the SNP remained the largest party, it fell short of its target of winning an overall majority.  Meanwhile, Labour recorded its worst ever Holyrood result and tied for second place with Reform UK. Welcoming the results, Mr Swinney posted on X on Friday: 'Tonight, the people of Scotland have emphatically renewed their trust in the SNP.  'However you voted, I will be the First Minister for all of Scotland, and work every day to build a better future.'  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.