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Donald Trump a loser on family's ancestral Scottish island

Donald Trump's family are held in high regard on the Isle of Lewis - but not the Republican presidential nominee himself.

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Does Trump's support stretch to his Scottish roots?
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A minister on Donald Trump's ancestral Scottish island has told Sky News that locals are embarrassed by their connection to him.

Reverend James Maciver, of the Free Church of Scotland, says that people on the island where his mother grew up are "disgusted" by the behaviour of the Republican presidential candidate.

Mr Trump traces his roots back to the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.

Donald Trump flashes two thumbs up during a campaign rally in Miami
Image: Thumbs up from Donald Trump - but it's thumbs down from residents of Lewis

His mother, Mary Anne Trump, nee MacLeod, lived in the small Gaelic-speaking village of Tong before leaving for the United States in 1930, aged 18.

There, she married Fred Trump, the son of German immigrants, and Donald is one of their five children.

His mother, and the family in general, are highly regarded on the island.

Mary Anne was a regular visitor back home before her death in 2000, aged 88.

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Mr Trump's older sister Maryanne, a judge in the US, recently donated around a quarter of million pounds to a care home on the island.

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In contrast, talks between the local council and Mr Trump about contributing to the refurbishment of the showpiece Lews Castle on Stornoway ended with no money changing hands.

Mary Anne MacLeod was raised according to the teachings of the Free Church, but her son's comments on the campaign trail do not necessarily square with its philosophy.

Nor do his business practices: his abrasive style in building Trump International golf course in Aberdeenshire (he also owns Turnberry) has earned him as many enemies as friends.

Reverend James Maciver, Minister at Stornoway Free Church and Clerk to the Free Church General Assembly, told Sky News: "I think people, generally, are not terribly impressed.

The village of Tong on the Isle of Lewis where Donald Trump's mother Mary Anne grew up
Image: The village of Tong where Trump's mother Mary Anne grew up

"Quite a lot would not support his way of dealing with other people. I think, generally, folks here are just pretty disgusted with what comes across about him.

"There is, I think, a measure of disappointment or certainly embarrassment about the connection with the island here, given his lifestyle."

Historians believe that Mr Trump's bloodline probably extends back to the Vikings, to whom Lewis once belonged.

A memorial cairn at Brevig Harbour bears the names of island men lost at sea, with Mr Trump's great, great grandfather, Donald Smith, among them.

Councillor Norman MacDonald, of Western Isles Council, talking to Sky News about Donald Trump
Image: Councillor Norman MacDonald: 'Trump's views are significantly to the right of my own'

The grandfather who came after him ran a shop and was involved in local politics.

Mr Trump still has cousins on Lewis but none seemed keen to speak about him or his presidential chances.

"Forget it..." was the response when we knocked on the door of the family home at Tong.

The opinions of others on the island are almost all negative.

Councillor Norman MacDonald, of Western Isles Council, told Sky News: "His views are significantly to the right of my own and the way he expresses them at times ... I'm not sure that people, generally here, would be proud of."

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