Daniel Jack: What the US Election could mean for Scotland

LAST week saw the fourth anniversary of the death of my former Washington colleague Norman Houston. Norman was my Northern Ireland counterpart, director of the Northern Ireland Bureau, when I represented Scotland in the US.

Like me, he was a mainstream civil servant before being appointed to a diplomatic role. But boy, did he excel at it. His achievements put many career diplomats to shame. He had a knack for engaging with people and achieving results which were second to none.

Much of that success was down to his personality and exceptional people skills and, of course, the luck of the Irish. But a large part of it can be attributed to the enduring legacy of American-Irish relations and in particular what we might call the “JFK effect”.

Norman could lift the phone in the morning and get in to meet White House advisers in the afternoon, such was the importance attributed to the relationship. By contrast, the nearest I ever got to the White House was a meeting with key advisers in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. For those who aren’t familiar with the Washington landscape, this is an incongruous building in the 19th-century Empire style, which looks as if it has been plucked from a Parisian boulevard and plonked next door to one of the most famous buildings in the world.

I only gained access to those advisers thanks to Norman working behind the scenes on my behalf.

During my time in Washington, direct contacts between the devolved administration representatives and the White House were not really encouraged by the Embassy. I very much doubt that has changed.

Not only was I impressed by Norman’s success, truth be told I was also just a wee bit jealous. Why couldn’t we have a JFK equivalent – a US president with strong links to Scotland? Experience tells us you have to be careful what you wish for.

Later today, Donald Trump, whose mother was born in Tong in the Isle of Lewis, will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. When it comes to American presidents, you cannot get a closer Scottish connection than that.

We’ve been here before, of course, and we all have our thoughts and opinions of how Trump acquitted himself during his first term in office. It was a bit of a rollercoaster if we are being honest.

That doesn’t necessarily mean things will be the same the second time around. The world has changed; America has changed and I suspect some of Trump’s views may well have changed too. What will not have changed though is the president’s overriding priority to “make America great again”.

How he sets out to achieve that will have repercussions for us all. The start of every presidential term brings with it a period of eager anticipation. Presidents, like prime ministers and first ministers, like to hit the ground running. They have an electorate to satisfy. People want to see things happen, to see the benefits promised during an election campaign begin to bear fruit.

It is at this juncture that forming strong and mutually beneficial diplomatic relationships is most crucial. And the challenge for anyone in a diplomatic role is to try to break through the veneer to understand who you’re dealing with.

Assuming the role of British ambassador at the start of a presidential term is a very challenging task.

In my opinion, nominee Peter Mandelson can rise to it to the best of his ability – assuming Trump does not reject his appointment as was being suggested by some.

But it will be difficult. Having publicly expressed some pretty trenchant views in the past about Trump, he will be on the back foot from day one if appointed.

While many other ambassadors will have equally strong views, theirs will have been confined to the limited audience of the recipients of the daily diplomatic telegrams sent to their respective capitals. However, Trump has the advantage of knowing full well what Mandelson thinks of him and could colour all his dealings with the UK.

Trump is a product of the media age. As a result, we think we know the man, what makes him tick and what he is like as a person. But we don’t really know him at all. The public image may be an accurate representation but equally it may not.

However we view him, we mustn’t forget that Trump is the democratically elected president of the United States of America and all who hold that office require to be treated with the dignity and respect which that position affords.

Elon Musk is a different kettle of fish. As someone who neither has ties to Scotland nor holds any democratic office, he is entitled to his views but many of his recent utterances are reprehensible and, thankfully, do not reflect the values which we hold or represent the modern Scotland which we seek to create and nurture.

Scotland’s long-standing familial, social and economic links with the USA are both strong and enduring. They have withstood many tests. At the start of this new presidency, we ought to seize the opportunity to cement the ties between the USA and Scotland.

Using our diplomatic presence in Washington, we ought to open direct channels of communication with the administration and not seek to do so only when the UK deems it appropriate. Let’s seize the opportunity that the president’s lineage affords to create something new, an enduring direct relationship. A relationship which will stand us in good stead in the future. Norman showed us how it can be done. Let’s follow his example.

[Daniel Jack was a Scottish Government counsellor in Washington DC (2013-16) and is the Alba Party’s membership convener. This Article was first published in The National on 20.01.25]