A Scottish Member of Parliament on Monday apologized that U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump is Scottish, in a three-hour debate on whether Trump should be banned from the United Kingdom.
“As his first name suggests, he is the son of a Scottish immigrant, and I apologize for that,” Scottish National Party member Anne McLaughlin said in the House of Commons.
“Like countless others, his mother Mary Anne MacLeod left her homeland during the great depression and went to what was, after all, the land of liberty,” she said. “This desire for economic opportunity is the same thing that motivates many migrants from many other countries to go to America today.”
Monday’s debate didn’t end with a vote, but it was prompted by a petition signed by more than a half million people who say Trump’s remarks about Muslims should disqualify him from entering the country. But while many opposed Trump’s remarks, few said he should be banned.
“Whilst I don’t necessarily support a complete ban on Mr. Trump from entering into this country, it’s clear that his bigoted remarks against Muslims, against Mexicans and against other minorities, but particularly his remarks against Muslims, deserve the utmost condemnation from all sides of this house, and all parts of society,” she said.
“I doubt many parties have an actual policy on Donald Trump,” she added.
