Pretty Scottish village where Donald Trump’s mother was born | UK | News

U.S. President Donald Trump paid a visit to Scotland last month, a country he frequently acknowledges as part of his ancestral heritage. During his stay, he visited both of his Scottish golf resorts — Trump Turnberry in South Ayrshire and Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire.

As part of the official visit, President Trump also met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney – with the meeting taking place in Aberdeen, a city Trump described as “the oil capital of Europe”.

Yet while the trip was purely on official business, Scotland still holds a special place in the President’s heart, as Trump has consistently highlighted his deep personal ties to Scotland through his late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born and brought up on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, reports The Daily Record.

According to VisitScotland: “With dramatic landscapes, a unique Gaelic culture and fascinating history, Lewis and Harris are a great place to start your Hebridean adventure. You will be blown away by wild mountains, immense white beaches, rugged coastlines and lunar landscapes.”

Born in 1912 in the village of Tong, approximately three miles from Stornoway, she departed the island at the age of 18 to seek employment as a domestic servant in New York. Like numerous Scots in the early 20th century, Mary Anne emigrated to America seeking enhanced prospects.

In 1936, she wed Frederick Trump, a prosperous property magnate and offspring of German immigrants.

The pair had five children, with President Trump, recognised on the island as Donald John, being their fourth child.

Mary Anne obtained US citizenship in 1942 and passed away in 2000, aged 88.

Despite his regular mentions of his Scottish heritage, the president has not consistently received a warm welcome from inhabitants of his mother’s birthplace.

Her relatives came from the surrounding region, with the MacLeods on her father’s side stemming from Vatisker, just north of Tong.

Tong itself boasts a distinctive history of political and cultural identity.

Between 1919 and 1921, the village, alongside neighbouring Coll and Gress, witnessed a series of land raids, where local men confronted absent landlords by sowing crops and splitting sheep-grazing estates into agricultural land.

Tong’s inhabitants were considered amongst the island’s most radical.

In a 1990s compilation of Stornoway slang, Tong’s residents were still dubbed “Bolshiveeks.”

Village locals have previously expressed irritation over Trump’s absence of backing for the community, highlighting the contrast with his sister and mother’s contributions.

“He never gave a penny,” residents have previously stated, noting that Mary Anne MacLeod Trump helped finance the village hall’s construction during the 1970s. His elder sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, also made a significant donation of £155,000 to a local care home and the Bethesda hospice.

Locals have claimed that the president is “feeding off” the legacy of his mother and sister without giving back to the island that shaped their early years.

Tong remains a traditional crofting village, located about four miles northeast of Stornoway. Crofting, weaving of Harris Tweed, and peat cutting are still part of daily life on the island.

The area is also renowned for hosting the annual Lewis Highland Games and the Western Isles Strongman competition.

Historically, Lewis was part of Norway until the 13th century, and by the 1800s Tong’s economy relied heavily on fishing, farming and weaving.

However, widespread land clearances in the late 19th century saw many tenants displaced in favour of large-scale sheep farms and deer forests.