After Muslim Comments, Donald Trump Dropped As Scotland Business Ambassador

After Americans across the board condemned Donald Trump’s call to block all Muslims from entering the U.S., blowback against the controversial comments has reached across the pond. The Scottish government announced Wednesday that it had dropped the Republican presidential front-runner as a business ambassador for the country.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon withdrew the New York billionaire’s membership in the GlobalScot business network “with immediate effect,” the Scotsman reported Wednesday. “Mr. Trump’s recent remarks have shown that he is no longer fit to be a business ambassador for Scotland, and the first minister has decided his membership of the respected GlobalScot business network should be withdrawn with immediate effect,” a spokesperson for the Scottish government said, according to The Scotsman.

The GlobalScot network comprises more than 700 executives around the world who have strong ties to Scotland. It aims to promote Scottish business in other countries and includes leaders such as Stagecoach bus tycoon Brian Souter and oil businessman Ian Wood.

Trump, whose mother was born in Scotland, was appointed a GlobalScot ambassador in 2006 by First Minister Jack McConnell. At the time, McConnell said Trump had “shown a real passion for Scotland. He is a globally recognized figure who can help us to promote Scotland. This is a good bit of business for all concerned.”

The real estate tycoon owns a golf course in Aberdeenshire and the Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire. He has been involved in a protracted legal dispute over the building of windmills near his Aberdeenshire course and took the case to the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court this fall.

There have been other indications this week that the United Kingdom is not happy with Trump’s recent comments. A spokesperson for British Prime Minister David Cameron Tuesday called Trump’s remarks “divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong,” the BBC reported.

A petition calling for Trump to be banned from entering the U.K. had garnered more than 150,000 signatures Wednesday and will be considered for debate in Parliament. Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland, is also considering withdrawing an honorary degree that was awarded to the Republican candidate, according to the BBC. In Canada, leaders have also hit back at Trump. A city councilman in Toronto has called for the Republican's name to be taken off Trump Tower in the Canadian city. Despite the fallout from his Muslim comments, Trump so far has shrugged off the criticism.