Eric Trump slams 'horrible mistreatment' of Aberdeen's oil and gas industry

Eric Trump has labelled Aberdeen's oil and gas industry as the "greatest in the world" before going on to claim it has been "totally mistreated" by the UK and Scottish governments.

Donald Trump's second son runs the President-elect's business empire alongside his brother Donald Jr, including his Trump International golf resort at Menie in Aberdeenshire.

He recently attended the resort to announce that his father would be attending the opening of the second golf course in 2025, writes the Scottish Daily Express.

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Now, in an interview with GB News, he backed the farmers protesting against Labour's 'tractor tax' and continued: "I hope the farmers here find the same voice that the farmers in the US found.

"And by the way, I can say that of a lot of industries over here who have been totally mistreated; the greatest oil and gas in the world is in Aberdeen. Arguably the greatest in the world and the way they've been treated is horrible.

"All while buying oil from Russia, buying oil from Iran: it makes no sense to me. America was under that same path as well. And again, the people of our country rejected that categorically and our path has changed. It's done a '180' since two weeks ago.

"You've got the greatest natural resources in the world in Aberdeen and unlimited oil and gas. And this great benefit to all of Europe and it's a great benefit to a country who'll otherwise become dependent on countries around the world, who do not have your best interest at heart or America's best interest: really the best interest of the West at heart."

The previous Tory Government introduced a windfall tax on oil and gas profits, which the new Labour administration has hiked to 38% and extended to 2030. It has already prompted US oil firm Apache to announce it was pulling out of the North Sea.

Meanwhile, the SNP Government in Edinburgh has been even more hostile to the industry, with politicians from across the left determined to "transition" away from oil and gas and completely shut down the extraction of fossil fuels.

Eric Trump predicted these policies would lead to a "revolt" from ordinary voters in the UK. He said: "You're seeing some of the issues that the UK is running into. You see the war on farmers right now.

"It's very sad to see, but we saw this in the United States in a very big way. You saw the war on oil and gas; we saw that in the United States, and people frankly revolted when their oil and gas prices went through the roof, when they can no longer afford to heat their homes, when they can no longer afford to drive their cars.

"When, you know, gas prices went up four times compared to my father's first term in office, and people revolted and I suspect the same sentiments are going to happen on this side of the pond and in the UK."

He urged the farmers in the UK to "fight like hell" and said they will soon have a friend in the White House.

In the exclusive interview with GB News, he also said he believes the UK and the US could have a free trade deal as long as it was mutually beneficial because his father loves the UK.

On the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, he said: "Trump will stop the wars. He'll stop the nonsense. He'll stop the violence. I think he'll get the hostages back in record time. I think, again, some of the hostages are back before he even enters office."

Eric predicted that his old man, 78, would be "good for all Western civilisation", adding: "As a son, I'm really proud of what he's accomplished and trust me, it would have been a hell of a lot easier for this guy to pack it in.

"Say, 'You know what? This isn't worth it. I've got the most beautiful golf courses in the world. I'll just go play Aberdeen every single day.'

"And instead, the guy goes out every single day, 20 hours a day, cries and grinds and grinds, and they put him in freezing cold courtrooms. And yet he grinds and goes to fundraisers late at night and makes it work and press conference after press conference.

"And, and you see the fruits of that labour now in terms of the world. And I think the whole world is viewing life through a very different lens.

"I think a big weight has been lifted off of so many people's backs. I think it's given hope to so many people, and not just in the United States, all around the world. I really think it's restored hope and faith."