ACTOR Alan Cumming has hit out at Donald Trump ahead of his visit to Scotland, calling out his attacks on the trans community in America.
In his opening monologue while presenting the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live, the star asked, "America, how are you doing?" to which the crowd cheered, but he added: "No really, how are you doing?".
He went on to point towards recent policies by Trump, including his administration ordering federal agencies to ban transgender workers from single-sex facilities that match their gender identity by Friday and fire any employees working on “gender ideology".
The memo sent to agencies comes as part of an executive order from Trump declaring the government will recognise only male and female sexes, which “are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality".
The president is due to visit Trump International Golf Links Aberdeen and Trump Turnberry in Ayrshire during his stay in Scotland this weekend.
Cumming also referred to Trump's relationship with Israel and his aggressive actions against immigrants, telling the audience he was an "immigrant from Scotland", to which the crowd cheered. He added: "Are you scared of me? I am taking an American's job right now."
Later, Cumming said that "there are superheroes who walk among us and they are called trans people".
“Just like superheroes, trans people are born with something special and magical about them, and they often have to hide what's special and magical about them from other people.
"Like superheroes, they grow up in a society that doesn't understand them, makes them the other, and often hits them.
"Like superheroes, trans people just want the world to be a safer place and they believe we should protect each other and live our lives in peace.
"Like superheroes, evil billionaires want to get rid of trans people for no fucking reason whatsoever.
“And just like superheroes, trans people are not new. They’ve been around forever and they’re not going anywhere, no matter how much this administration tries to make you fear them.”
Wake up, America!
He added: "There is no evidence trans people are a threat to women. There is, however, ample evidence that the president of the United States publicly brags about barging into beauty pageant dressing rooms and grabbing women by their pussies. Wake up, America!”
“Why on earth would a rapist go to the bother of pretending to be trans in a country that actually treats rapists better than trans people?” he asked.
The actor went on to highlight that reports of anti-trans hate incidents have seen a clear increase over the past year.
“Another surprising statistic? Our sitting president is a million percent more likely to be on the Epstein list than any trans person,” Cumming said.
“So let’s not pretend that we’ve got our eye on the ball when it comes to sexual violence, OK, America? And how dare this president make random, unfounded accusations of sexual criminality against trans people when he was literally ordered to pay $83 million to a woman who accused him of sexual assault.”
He continued: “It’s the pot calling the kettle black after trying to grab its handle in the changing room of a T.J. Maxx.”
