The McLeods of Lewis, from which Donald Trump is descended, are one of the most warlike of the Scottish clans, a tribe of tough Hebridean islanders who have been more or less permanently at war with their neighbours, and each other, for the past 500 years. Mr Trump’s mother was Mary Anne McLeod, born in 1912 at Tong in Lewis, where McLeod is still the most common surname. Mr Trump is one of an estimated 30 million Americans with Scottish ancestry, and the richest since Andrew Carnegie.

Though less prominent and vocal in the US than the Irish-American community, Scottish-Americans take their roots seriously, with a National Tartan Day every year on April 6 in the US and Canada, and highland festivals involving caber tossing, whisky tasting and Scottish dancing held throughout the country. American kilt-makers have even produced a lightweight tartan for wearing during the summer.

If Americans think fondly of their Scottish origins, Scots think increasingly fondly of American visitors to Scotland who bring a huge boost to the tourist industry. In 2006 about 475,000 Americans visited Scotland, nearly twice as many as the next foreign contender (Germany), pumping £361 million into the Scottish economy.

George W. Bush used to spend childhood summers on a sheep farm in Perth, and fondly recalls the occasion when a bus full of American tourists mistook him for a Scottish shepherd and started taking photographs.

Yet Scots, unlike their Irish cousins, tend to be somewhat suspicious of people returning to the homeland claiming kinship, particularly those with ostentatious private jets. This may be particularly true of Mr Trump’s own ancestral clan.

The McLeod battle tartan is as green as a fairway, Mr Trump’s clan motto is “Hold Fast”, and the clan’s most treasured possession is a “fairy flag”, which brings good luck.

All of this seems appropriate for a man seeking to build “the world’s greatest golf course” in Scotland.

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