ALEX Salmond has warned that Donald Trump as US President would display the same sort “of threatening behaviour” in dealing with global emergencies such as terror attacks and wars as he did in a well-publicised spat with the former First Minister over wind farms.
In a plea to Scots with American ancestry and other US citizens to vote against Trump, Salmond said it would be an “extremely dangerous” situation for world peace security if Trump wins the US Presidential election this week.
Speaking to the Sunday Herald, Salmond, the SNP’s international affairs spokesperson, said a win for the billionaire businessman would be a “retrograde step and a ludicrous gigantic folly” for the American electorate. It would also represent the biggest low point and humiliation for the United States since the country’s involvement and defeat in the Vietnam War.
He made the comments after holding talks in Liechtenstein with the country’s ministers as part of a series of international visits he is making to promote Scotland’s relations with other European countries.
Salmond said that while he found Trump’s “misogyny” and racist remarks highly objectionable, the main danger the tycoon represented was due to his temperament, which Salmond said made him unsuitable to occupy the White House.
He cited a furious blast of temper that Trump directed at him in a phone conversation when he was First Minister about the tycoon’s objection to the Scottish Government’s policy of promoting wind farms - including the building of wind farms near his golf resort in Menie, Aberdeenshire.
However, Salmond said it was his experience of Trump’s rage during their exchanges that have convinced him he is unsuitable to exercise power in emergency situations and hold sway over the armed forces.
He suggested that Trump began shouting at him without warning after disagreeing with Salmond about the wind farm, which the businessman had said would spoil the view.
Salmond said a Trump victory "would be a huge retrograde step and a ludicrous gigantic folly for the United States".
“It would be a national embarrassment for America and would be the most harmful thing to the reputation of the US since Vietnam.
“Trump is a misogynist and he has made extremely unpleasant remarks about Mexicans and Muslims.
“But one of my main objections to Trump is the knowledge of his temperament, which is completely unsuited to being the president of the US.
“It’s more knowing about Trump in terms of his temperament and how dangerous this would be in dealing with other nations.
“When I think of how quickly he went from chumminess to threatening behaviour over a wind farm, it’s deeply worrying to think how he would handle real power, including nuclear weapons."
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