Russell Findlay refuses to say if he would vote for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris

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Scots Tory leader Russell Findlay has refused to say if he would vote for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in the US presidential contest. The West of Scotland MSP is the only party leader who has not thrown his weight behind the Democrat in an election that is gripping the world.

The contest to succeed President Biden is on a knife edge and Americans fear Trump could go to the courts if he loses today. He has consistently refused to accept he lost to Biden in 2020 and has claimed he is the victim of cheating in the current election.

Another major issue has been Trump getting convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Findlay, despite styling himself as a law and order politician, has not distanced himself from the convicted felon. The Record asked Findlay in August - during the last Scottish Tory leadership contest - whether he would vote for Trump or Harris if he had a vote.

He replied: “I don't have a vote. I'm a lot more interested in what happens in Scotland than in other countries. Many in the Scottish Parliament would do well to adopt the same approach, instead of parading as pound-shop diplomats.”

His fellow party leaders have lined up to back Harris. First Minister John Swinney said last week: “People in the United States of America should vote for Kamala Harris. And I’ve not come to that conclusion only because Donald Trump is opposed to Scottish independence.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also said he wants Harris to win: "The world wins if it does not have someone who is a divisive figure, who deliberately wants to pit country against country and who wants to build protectionism in the US.

“I think there is a reason why so many people in America and right across the globe want to see the Democrats win and want to see Kamala Harris as President.”

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Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton travelled to the US recently to campaign for Harris and Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater have also endorsed the VP.

Although Findlay has refused to pick a side, the right winger he once backed for the UK Tory leadership is behind Trump. Liz Truss, whose disastrous premiership nearly sunk the British economy, has said she wants the Republican to win.

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